Mommy Day!

Usually I'll try and take the kids somewhere fun on mommy days, but this mommy day I had to get caught up from being gone two weekends in a row. So, the kids were left to entertain themselves part of the day. They were so cute! Here's a few pictures.

Just chillin' in sister's chair



They wheeled this toy into the kitchen while I was cooking dinner and took turns riding, sometimes together as you can see.

Happy Birthday Gramps

We drove to Pendleton to celebrate Grandpa Timm's birthday last weekend. We took off on Friday morning and got into town around 2pm. After naps we went down to the neighbor's property and visited their mamma and baby donkey and horse. The kids did great and Ashley even held her hand out to pet all three of them. I wasn't sure how they would handle it since it's the first time they've been around such big animals, but I was pleasantly surprised! Saturday we went swimming at the athletic club that Steph belongs to. That was really fun. There's a kids pool 18 inches deep, perfect for our little squirts. Ashley could sit in it and still keep her head above water, so we didn't have to worry too much about her and Isaiah practiced his walking by holding onto a kick board going from one end to the other. He started walking a lot while we were at their house and is now walking about 60% of the time. I think he's figured out that crawling isn't as efficient. Saturday night we celebrated Steve's birthday with a delicious pot roast and angel food cake with strawberries for dessert. Sunday we went to church and out to breakfast with some of their friends and then headed home to have dinner with Grammy and Grandpa. They watched Brody for the weekend and wanted to hear all about the trip.





Ashley with Grams old doll cradle. She got everything ready for the kids and they had so much fun playing with all the new toys.

He still loves his bumbo.

He's Walking!

Star Gazer

I am so proud of the little girl Ashley is becoming. She is so sweet and kind hearted, the kids and teachers at her daycare adore her and she adores them. Every time I drop her off her friends come running, "Hi Ashley" and when we get ready to go home they patiently wait for her to get her jacket on and then give her a hug. She's learning so much, I'm really happy with where she's at. The conversations we have with her catch us off guard because she sounds so mature. She makes us laugh unintentionally because she's so darn cute! She loves the cooking projects at school and of course show and tell where she gets to bring whatever she wants from home to show the class. They have jobs they get to pick from and she takes these very seriously, even holding the door open for mom when we're out and about. She talks about the weather, how she slept in for 3 hours, and how a hair cut that she gives cost $50. She likes to negotiate and ask what her "choices" are. She is a very slow eater, but likes to tell us when she's beat us. She's very good at taking a "no thank you bite", but tries to negotiate a desert if she eats more. It's pretty hard to say no to her sometimes! She knows how to melt our hearts and she does it on a daily basis.



Every week Miss Jessica writes a quote from one of the kids in class, this week Ashley's was up there.

This was her first "reporter" story in the Star Gazer class. Each week the kids get to be a reporter and tell the class a story. The teachers write it down and the kids can draw pictures at the top. These will go in the scrapbook!

She loves her Papa!





This was taken at Ashley's Valentines Day party at school. Isaiah got to participate, but had to sit patiently while Ashley gave him specific instructions and decorated the cookie for him. The cute thing was Isaiah was very patient and didn't try to grab at the cookie until she was done. He really looks up to his big sister, they laugh together all the time.

She's the one in the back with the pink top. The kids made masks and pretended they were alley cats.

This was a big hit. Ashley brought a map of Mt Bachelor for show and tell. The kids had fun planning their route down the slopes.

Little Lamb

Here's a few pictures of our "Little Lamb". I absolutely love the daycare the kids go to. The teachers are wonderful and Isaiah has never cried when I've dropped him off. He's excited to see his friends and sit down to eat breakfast. He's sleeping 1 1/2 to 2 hours most days, but still comes home exhausted. They have them busy during the day!


Here is the little chair he sits on for breakfast at school. Such a big boy!

Chilly Hilly

I don't have any pictures of it, but we went up to Seattle so Brian could participate in his first ride, the "Chilly Hilly," a 30 mile bike ride around Bainbridge Island with his buddy Steve. It had been snowing off and on for the last few days, but luckily only a few flakes while they were riding. They wore the right gear and didn't freeze, but were pretty exhausted after riding those big hills. After the ride the boys went for a few beers at the Pyramid Brewery to celebrate and the girls went out to lunch with the kiddos. Joana and I met our friend Laura from college at the Rainforest Cafe in Southcenter. It was a perfect place to go because the kids were entertained and us girls could chat and catch up. Before lunch Jo and Nathan had come over to the hotel to go swimming. I think that helped a little too because they were worn out and hungry by the time we sat down for lunch. These are a few pictures I took at the hotel.





Loves to get himself stuck in places he can't get out.

13 months

Two exciting things this month, we took away the binkie and Isaiah's taking 4-5 steps on his own! Last Thursday he was exhausted from being at daycare all week. I was home the next day and we didn't have any plans for the weekend since Brian was on call. I laid him down for bed, covered him up with his blanket and said goodnight. He was a little confused and opened his mouth for his binkie and cried for a few minutes when I left, but fell asleep within minutes and slept all through the night. Since then he hasn't had the binkie at night or naps and has done great. Today was the first day at daycare without it, so hopefully it went as well there as at home. As for walking, he started to gain more and more balance when we walked around the house with him. He's been holding onto one hand for a while now and standing on his own for a few weeks, but as soon as he knows you've let him go he'll plop down on the floor. Now he'll walk 4 or 5 steps before he looses his balance and falls. Brian started working with him a lot last week, but the funny part was the more he worked with him the more Isaiah started thinking it was a game. Brian would stand him on his feet and Isaiah would get jello legs, fall, and laugh so hard. Hard to make any progress after that point!

Beach House

We went to our beach house for the weekend to get away and spend some time as a family, but also to get some chores done at the house. It rained all weekend, so we decided to take the kids to the Newport Aquarium Saturday after lunch. It worked out really well since it's about an hour drive, the kids took their nap in the car on the way there and Isaiah another nap on the way back. I've been to the aquarium in high school when the "Free Willy" whale was there. Although he's not there anymore, the aquarium hasn't changed much. They've done a really good job keeping it up. My favorite were the jelly fish. Ashley was pretty cautious with everything she saw and of course brother leaned forward to try and touch it all. They have a "tide pool" that the kids can stick their hands in and touch the sea anemones. No way would Ashley get close, but Isaiah loved it! He's the adventurist. The best part was we got to see the seals and sea lions get fed and do tricks. It was such a fun thing to do as a family!

They had two underwater bridges that you could walk through, this one and one that was filled with sharks and sting rays. Pretty cool to be so close to those swimming over your head!





waiting patiently for breakfast to be served.

1 year stats!

Ashley at a year!

Isaiah had his 1 year checkup and here are his stats... height 30 3/4 in (78%) and weight 20lb 7 oz (15%). Ashley was 30 inches (60%)and 20lb 1 oz (24%) at her one year checkup. Pretty similar in size, but when comparing pictures look so different! Isaiah is growing up so fast, I just want to keep him at this stage forever. He loves to cuddle and is a mama's boy! He opens his mouth really big to give smooches and blows kisses by holding his hand up to his mouth blowing on it. It was fun to see him watch and learn to do it. He loves to roughhouse with Papa and cracks himself up thinking he is so funny! He's now in the little lambs class and loving it. They have a slide with three stairs leading up to it that he goes up and down all day. They eat in little chairs at a small table and he's always the last one to go down for a nap because he's still eating! Sometimes they have to cut him off. He's down to one nap a day, sometimes 2 when I'm home with him for about 2 hours. He's still eating a ton and drinking milk out of a sippy cup with no problem. No more bottles! Pretty soon we'll take away the binkie since all four of his top teeth are now in. We'll see how that goes. He has a blanket that he snuggles with in his crib, so I'm hoping that will help him and he's not depended on it during the day. It's just so hard to make the move because he's sleeping so well. I guess this is where we as parents hold our children back. We think it's going to be such a hard transition so we put it off and they end up adjusting with ease. He's been practicing his walking getting more brave and holding onto one hand. He's taken a few surprise steps on his own, but falls down once he realizes that no one is holding onto him. He has been doing the bear crawl which seems really awkward, but it does get him places a little faster and it's funny to watch! He makes a "funny face" (cheesy smile) when we bring out the camera and loves to have his picture taken. Almost all the his pictures I have to get rid of the "red eye" due to those big blue eyes. Our next camera will have a really good setting to get rid of this before the picture is taken. We're due for one any day now! He also makes a really funny noise to get our attention that sounds like a seal pup. It's really funny and makes us laugh so hard when he gets going. He's learned baby signs, but that doesn't get our attention when we're not looking... so he's developed this sound and repeats faster and faster depending on the urgency. This could be for food he wants a toy and especially the phone or remote when he catches eye of it. He's been sick a few more times than Ashley, mostly low temps and runny noses, but nothing that has kept him down for long! We're having so much fun watching these two grow up to be amazing little people!


"Funny face". This is the smile you get when you bring out the camera. You can see the funny way his teeth came in too!


At the Dr's office. I thought I would keep Isaiah warm by bringing this bathrobe, which ended up being way too small, but it did serve it's purpose! Ashley didn't have an appointment, but she did have to get the chicken pox vaccine. It finally caught up to us that we hadn't vaccinated her for it yet. We got a letter from the county saying she couldn't attend daycare until she received it!

RIP Whitie

Our 1987 Chevy Nova died last Thursday. It was a sad, sad day. My Dad bought that car for me my junior year in college. I had been home for the summer, but needed a car because I was moving in with roommates off campus. I was away for the weekend doing the Portland to coast walk with my mom, so my Dad took it upon himself to pick out a car for me. I think it was listed for $1500 and as my Dad is walking around the car checking it out not saying anything the lady anxiously says "I can't take anything under $1200". He was ready to buy it at $1500, but after hearing that he wasn't going to argue, it was a great price for that car. I never had any trouble with it, besides running the battery low from leaving the lights on (I got pretty good at jumping the car). After Brian and I got married and started traveling my brother got the car for a few years until we came back and we needed two cars. We've had it ever since and it just kept going... until last week. Brian was trying to pick up the kids last Thursday and it quit a few blocks from their daycare. He couldn't go anywhere because the car was blocking a lane, so I picked up the kids, Brian got pushed by a cop to a side street and we ended up towing the car back to the house which was one of the scariest things I've done. He was in the 4-runner, me in the Nova with no brakes because it was dead and unable to see anything because the Nova is so low. I felt like he was going 50 mph and whenever there was any slack in the rope, I tightened my grip and just held on as I was jerked back to being towed. We only had to go about 8-10 miles, but it felt like eternity. My heart was pounding and I was so glad to be out of that situation when we got home. I really hope I never have to do it again because it gives me nightmares just thinking about it. Brian ended up buying a Subaru on Friday, so whitie has been replaced but she served us well!