The Chatty Housewife

Favorite Five Friday- Valentines Edition

2012-02-03T01:00:00.003-08:00

style

I own this with our initials, and love it!
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decor

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food

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kids

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tutorial

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A 6th just because I can't resist the cuteness.
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9 Months

2012-02-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

Little Mr. is 9 months old today!
(And no, those pants aren't as short as they look in this photo!)

A Very Squirmy-Wormy Photoshoot

2012-01-30T01:00:00.000-08:00

A little friend.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar got to join in a photo opp the other day when white snowy light was shining in the sliding back door. Little Mr. is too long for these vintage overalls now and I wanted to catch some photos of him wearing them for the last time. I picked them up at a second hand store for 25 cents way before he was born, with plans to hang them on the wall if we left them unpainted. Well, we painted the walls... and he wore the overalls. :)

A big friend.

Little toes.

Little fingers.
(I love how his pointer is holding his thumb on his left hand, he is growing out of this newborn habit, so it makes me happy that this shot was caught.)

Little bum. :)

I wonder if he could see his reflection?

Big smile.

Little drool.

Chest off the ground. Will he be crawling soon?

Big drool! (Poor Mr. Very Hungry is getting quite the shower!)

Favorite Five Friday- Guest Post Edition

2012-01-27T01:00:00.003-08:00

Today for Favorite Five Friday we have a guest poster! Naomi from Diaries of the Happy Sanitarium is sharing her favorites with us. I met her back in the days of puffy sleeves and lots of hairspray, when we were candle lighters in a wedding together. I wish I had access right now to a photo from that day, because it would be great fun to post it here, but alas I don't. So I will just go ahead and post Naomi's fabulous favorite five. Enjoy!

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handmade

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Thank you so much Naomi!

An Afternoon of Crafting

2012-01-24T19:30:00.002-08:00

Today I got to do one of my favorite things—craft with friends! H came over with her three kids and it was a great afternoon of doing taking-care-of-kid things and crafting. Both H and I did get quite a lot of crafting done, so it was a successful meeting. I started working on a bunting for Little Mr.'s room and H made name signs for her two girls to match one that I made for Droo's nursery five years ago. (I can't believe he is five years old now!)

The five year old himself.

It was the perfect type of day to stay inside because the weather was "positively dreadful," as H would say. The wind was beating against the windows, rain and hail were taking turns falling, and it was dark enough outside that the open blinds were making me feel like a fish in a fishbowl, even though it was mid afternoon.

H's three kids kept Little Mr. happily entertained while we crafted. Little Mr. happily stared off into the distance in some sort of an overwhelmed/overstimulated, teething-induced trance as the kids ran around the house playing and occasionally stopped by to play with him or give him a toy that had dropped out of his reach. It was so sweet!

Little Mr. has dropped his toy and is patiently waiting for K to notice.

K noticed and picked it back up for him. This time, and the 100 or so times after.

I think it is obvious that I have collected too many paper-crafting supplies. Card stock, patterned papers, punches, stamps and pads, embellishments, embossing paraphernalia, glues.... you name it. If you don't use it, you just save it all up until it is out of style and outdated... so we used it! I cut into all sorts of papers that I had been ~~hoarding~~ saving for using in Little Mr.'s nursery somehow, and it feels good to actually be using them and have something in the works! Hopefully when it is finished and up on the nursery wall I will take some photos and do a nursery reveal post, since I've never actually done a nursery tour here on the blog.

A, K and Little Mr.

Droo added to my winter decor a bit. It's still hanging there and looks quite pretty. It's abstract art!

My project is still in the works. At this point some of the triangles are in different pairs and all the edges of these 16 triangles have been rubbed with my favorite stamp pad for rubbing edges. I love the look it gives.... you'll see when the bunting is done that it really makes things pop!

I will leave you with one last photo—a group shot of the kids. H and I really should have gotten into the photo too, I'm bad about being in photos!

Check out the difference between this group shot and this one taken of the same kids on 8/25/11!

The Little One is Now.....

2012-01-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

At 8 1/2 months old The Little One:

has a blossoming personality
likes avocados the best but bananas are a close second
loves jumping like crazy in the exersaucer
has 7 teeth (#8 is on it's way!)
rolls all over the place
weighs over 17 lbs
is getting to big for the baby swing
still uses his feet like a monkey when playing with toys
loves to watch people and tries to get their attention by making silly sounds
kicks and splashes in the big bathtub
is a ham in front of the camera
and last but not least.....

The Little One is ready for a new blog nickname!

I just spent several minutes reading through comments on old posts to help me decide what to call him and Little Man, Mini Mr., and Little Guy were all runners up, but I have decided to call him "Little Mr." as per KDK's suggestion in the comments on this post! I might still slip up and call him The Little One occasionally, since I do call him that in real life once in a while, but I do really love the idea of calling him Little Mr. so I have to say a big thanks to KDK!

Favorite Five Friday

2012-01-20T03:23:00.003-08:00

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(twice baked sweet potatoes)
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Snow and a Visit to The Woods

2012-01-18T14:22:00.005-08:00

Well, if you haven't heard already.... it's snowing here! There have been a few snow days in our area so far and there are probably more to come as the roads are nasty. It's been fun to watch all the kids building snowmen, igloos/forts and jumps for their sleds. It's only 15 degrees outside right now so it's really quiet—everyone is staying inside! Occasionally you can hear a chickadee or red winged black bird when the sun comes out.

On Lord's day we had quite the surprise. We woke up and got ready for our day as normal, and when we were pulling out of our driveway the sky started to sprinkle the tiniest of little snow-ball flakes. It was the snow's version of "spitting" I guess you could say. However, a mile away from our house, there was about an inch of snow and it was snowing a little heavier. A mile or two further and there was more like five inches! It was so beautiful!

Huge flakes started coming down and it started making us think we should turn around and stay at home for the day. We kept going and about 10 or 15 miles later the weather really lightened up and there was barely any snow at all.

It was an especially fun day because we had several visitors that were able to stay for our regular potluck and afternoon Bible reading. Sallad and Grace were there, and Bri and her cousin Esther were so cute in their matching dresses!

That afternoon Sallad and Grace came up to Bellingham because we were all invited to Doc and Bashful's house for dinner that evening. (Sadly I didn't get any photos when we were at there house.) On our way North we stopped for coffee at The Woods in Boulevard Park. Here are the girls enjoying a snack.

Here are the boys! Cousins are so much fun.

Look how big my little baby is in that car seat! For comparison, below is a photo taken when he was 24 days old.

This photo was posted here, and looking back over the photos in that post makes my heart melt!

The second time he's tasted coffee. :)

He reaches out for more.

The Boardwalk in Boulevard park makes it easy to walk to Fairhaven if you are visiting during shopping hours.

Bellingham Bay

California Trip Photos (Part 2)

2012-01-16T14:38:00.002-08:00

After San Diego, we went to visit family in the desert. The weather was so perfect when we were there, sunny and warm without being hot. It was beautiful!

Cousins Miss H and Miss J became great friends with The Little One.

Uncle R hanging out with The Little One. Uncle R's back patio is such a beautiful spot!

I have a ton of photos like the one above, but none with them both smiling. Half of the time the photo is blurry because Miss J loves to move and flap her arms in the most adorable way, and the other half look something like the photo below....

He's such a ham!

We borrowed Miss J's walker, but never caught on to walking forward. He moved backwards a few times but was mostly interested in the slinky.

The J's house is within walking distance from a Starbucks, and as we were sitting enjoying our iced drinks one afternoon, I looked over to see this cute hummingbird in the palm tree. Definitely the fuzziest hummingbird I've ever seen. I like his hair cut. :)

Being a ham again.

Bougainvillea

The J's dog, who is a super fetcher.

Miss J

I love how easily they can grow fruit there. The J's have lemons and oranges right in their backyard.

A family shot of The Mr and I with The Little One. A rare catch! We need to work on that one.

This cracks me up.

It was really cool to introduce the Little One to his great Uncle R and Aunt R and we had a really nice time staying at their house.

On Lord's day, we were in Shadow Hills for meeting and then were invited over to the C's house for lunch. Mrs. C always makes such nice Sunday dinners!

Mr. C's beautiful custom built organ. Built into their front room ceiling there is a speaker system to go along with it that makes it sound like you are sitting in a massive chapel. It's really neat!

The Little One was being quite charming that day as he was being passed around.

Mr. C is in the process of building a huge model train track in their yard, complete with living miniature trees.

Coming around the bend. The train is radio controlled and has steam and realistic sounds depending on how fast you are driving it (clicking over the rails, releasing of steam, brakes screeching etc.) Pretty cool!

That afternoon we took off for home and ended up driving through the night again. It was nice to be home but I was wearing flip flops and it was COLD in Washington! It's always a bit of a shock coming back from vacation. :)

Favorite Five Friday

2012-01-13T01:00:00.003-08:00

I'm starting something new! I am going to start posting Five Favorites each Friday. They may be extravagant or they may be simple, but either way they are things that have caught my eye. I am going to keep it casual, so I might miss a Friday here or there or post something else in it's place.

I also would love to invite my readers to guest post, so if you are reading this now and would like to compile your own list for Favorite Five Friday, please mention so in the comments! I will do the post editing work, so all you'll need to do is send me your Favorite Five!

I'm going to try and stick to these five categories each Friday:

1)style
2)decor
3)food
4)kids
5)freebie (craft, photography, video, favorite post etc.)

So without further ado, here is the first Favorite Five Friday.......

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California Trip Photos

2012-01-10T22:22:00.005-08:00

The Mr., The Little One and I went to California for the holidays! We spent three days soaking-in the Word of God, at a Bible conference in Burbank. It was such a great time of fellowship as well! After the conference we got to spend several happy days with family. We are very thankful that we were able to go down this year and here are just a few of the photos I caught along the way.

The Little One was quite the trooper. It can't be easy sitting buckled into a car seat for so many hours. The Mr. and I made a last minute decision to drive through the night and thankfully we didn't regret it. The Little One slept well and The Mr. and I took turns driving. It was nice to get to the hotel in Burbank so much earlier than we would of had we spent the night in a hotel somewhere along the way. We checked into our room before noon!

On Saturday morning we went out for a J family breakfast at Denny's just across the street from the hotel.

The desk in our hotel room became a changing table. :) It's so much fun being a mommy! For some reason unpacking and setting up in the hotel room felt just like back when I was a little girl playing house.

Auntie Kim came up to our room for a visit after lunch one day. It was so neat that we got to see her. Side note: I am glad a snapshot of this outfit was caught, because it's not going to fit him for much longer! The sleeves are already an inch too short, so I just roll them up. I can't resist argyle and pinstripes on a little boy.

A self timer shot!

This is a momma and baby shot to go along with a maternity shot we did together before our babies arrived. It was so fun to be together again. C and J's little girl is such a doll!

On Monday we walked over to Starbucks with the C's and The Little One ended up having his first sips of COFFEE! I think it was on accident while someone was letting him chew on the straw of his iced americano, but it ended up being quite the show as the Starbucks was full of people we knew and the trick was repeated a few times. I tried to ignore what was happening, as I am generally very strict about his diet! It was funny though. Aunt Char took some videos and I would share them here but they were taken on a cell phone so they are sideways. It is so cute to see him reaching out for the cup and now he knows what straws are for!

Tuesday morning it was time to say goodbye to our lovely suite at the Mariott. Isn't this outdoor area at the front of the hotel just beautiful?

We made it down to our car with all of our stuff in ONE trip, which was quite the feat actually. In/on the stroller is a cooler of gluten-free food and baby food, books, a pillow, several baby blankets, a package of diapers, a bag of dress shoes, a bag of books from BTP, more dress shoes, ice packs, the diaper bag, two bible cases and probably more that I can't think of at the moment. Let's just say that the stroller was hard to steer and looked a little like a bag-lady's cart. Oh, and I almost forgot.... The Little One was in there too!

Oh, hello there Little One.... there you are! What a tight squeeze, his feet are actually resting on a package of diapers. :) Eventually we got everything packed into the car and even had room to give Kim a ride, as we were on our way to the beach party at Zuma Beach in Malibu. I didn't get any photos because I packed my old camera for the beach but brought the wrong memory card, but it was a beautiful day! Clear blue skies and warm weather. Just perfect.

That night we went to San Diego. Here is The Little One with his Great Aunt M! Aunt M adored The Little One and often asked about him if he wasn't in the room with her. I was so happy that they got to spend time together. Visiting with Aunt M was one of my favorite parts of the trip!

The backyard at the W's house is so beautiful. The perfect place to lounge and relax!

In N Out "Animal Style" burger for The Mr.

In N Out protein style for gluten-free me!

We visited Boomers for Josh's birthday! Here he is with his Aunt L in front of him and his mom behind.

We visited a friends home that is in the middle of the city but is actually off the grid. Check out their website. We were invited for (a very yummy) dinner but were able to have a tour as well and it was extremely interesting! The Mr. even got to go for a drive in their electric Nissan Leaf.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Having Fun!

2011-12-25T03:06:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone is having a happy day today and having tons of fun spending time with friends and family! The Little One wishes you all a merry Christmas day!

Feet!

2011-12-22T15:01:00.003-08:00

Who needs toys... when you have feet?!

(Edited to add: watch to the end, I've been told it's worth it.)

I like the sweet smiles he gives his feet, and the silliness at the end. I am cherishing moments like this! He is growing so quickly. This was taken a while ago and he has more hair now and has also started squirming and rolling his way around on the floor, moving from one side of the room to the other.

Sparkle and Shine

2011-12-12T06:07:00.004-08:00

Hi there! If you are visiting from The Inspired Room's Home Tour, or Nesting Place's Tour of Homes, WELCOME! :) Here's just a little tour of some things that have been sparkling and shining around our home.

Mercury glass

Tin stars with chunky glitter.

Glittery snow ("ice chips" vase filler) and sparkly stacked pinecone candles that were a gift from my grandparents add some sparkle to the hutch.

A closer look at the sheep with their little silver jingle bells.

A centerpiece from things gathered from here and there. A candle, a ratty berry wreath, ornaments, pinecones and two thrift store ceramic birds that are probably from the 70's. :)

These glittery snowflakes hang here year after year, but this year some glass droplets from Greenhouse are joining them.

Ornaments added to a bowl of seashells add some sparkle for the holidays.

The sun was beating in and making everything look extra sparkly.

In the evening the mood changes and it's fun to light the candles on the hutch.

There is a special story about the string of crochet doilies in this photo. My Grandma C made the doilies for me a long time ago to use for a collection of tiny porcelain cats I used to have. I just strung the doilies on some thread and taped them up. I think they look a little like snowflakes and I love the memories they bring to mind!

The mantle inspires me to grab a hot drink, a good book and have a cozy evening.

Thanks for visiting our sparkly home! Come back soon!

Adventures in Solids

2011-12-06T23:09:00.006-08:00

The day after The Little One turned 6 months old, we tried brown rice cereal for the first time. At first he wasn't sure what to think......

But soon he decided he liked it pretty well.....

.....and then he decided he couldn't get enough of it! Look at those tiny arms and legs reaching out. These first three photos were taken over a month ago, and he has changed so much since then!

So far he has embraced almost every single food we've offered with outstretched hands and an open mouth... all except prunes! I caught this video of his reaction.

A messy mouth is now part of his daily routine.

He eats:
brown rice cereal
gluten-free oatmeal
white rice
apple sauce
bananas
pears
apricots
prunes
avocado
beans
peas
sweet potato
winter squash

His all-time favorite is.... avocado!

MMMM, chicken leg! Okay, okay... it's a maraca. We're not quite to the point where he can chow down on a drumstick. :)

To Market, To Market

2011-12-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

Shawn and the girls came for a visit, and when they arrived on Friday night, they brought dinner with them! It was such a treat for The Mr. because Shawn made one of his all-time favorite (glutenous) dishes, deep dish pizza! Homemade pizza is a huge treat for him, let alone "Giordano's" deep dish Chicago style (A.K.A amazing) pizza. I am really glad when others make foods for my husband that are laden with gluten, because it is very rare for him to get those kinds of foods in our house. :)

Well, no fat pigs or plum buns were brought home, but we did go to the market on Saturday! One thing that I have to say about this market is that you will not starve if you are gluten-free. There are several options, but the most obvious are the gluten-free man pies, as well as several vendors selling gluten-free baking. I tried a thick slice of carrot bread/cake from The Baker's Cousin, and it was quite yummy and satisfying. I'd definitely go back again!

Parking is free in downtown on Saturdays, and when you are done shopping at the market, there are plenty of other fun places to visit within a short walking distance on both Railroad Ave. and E Holly St. Since our discovery of this new-to-us part of Bellingham, we've been back a number of times and it has become one of our favorite places to spend a Saturday. We can't even remember how we stumbled across it, but we're glad we did.

Local Hazelnuts

BelleWood Acres had several varieties of apples for sale.

I thought this was cute!

This is the booth that I bought The Little One's felted sheep from on our last visit. They have all sorts of beautiful fabric items like these aprons above, as well as cloth napkins, hair accessories, pillows, buntings/banners and much more.

Ralf's Bavarian Bakery always has lots of yummy looking breads, pretzels and twists, and when we visit the market with friends or family, they often buy something here. It just all looks really yummy! This time they had gluten-free apple tarts too, which was a neat surprise.

The fall wreaths and colorful stattice caught my eye.

Samish Bay Cheese always has the yummiest samples of cheeses made "just yesterday," as well as the same cheeses, aged, so that you can taste the difference age makes. It is an interesting taste experiment. I like the creamy texture of the freshest cheese the best.

Cascadia Mushrooms' grow your own mushroom kits look like a lot of fun!

Tephums and Stella tried some honey sticks.

After the market, we went to Woods Coffee to warm up. I never tire of looking at the bottom of my paper cup to see "John 3:16."

After that we made our way to one of my favorite stores in Bellingham. Actually it is probably my favorite. It is called Greenhouse and their beautiful products and styling never cease to awe. I picked up some beautiful decorations, and Shawn also picked out this gorgeous hand made wall vase for her early birthday present from us.

Twice now as we've visited this store, we've stayed so long that it was time to feed The Little One. I think we're starting to feel quite at home at the table in the candle section! Here The Little One is enjoying some homemade sweet potato puree.

Next we made our way to LuLu. LuLu sells jewelry, clothing, notebooks, soaps, lotions, scarves etc. I loved this necklace and just had to snap a photo.

From there we moved on to Digs. If you like modern decor, you'll love Digs. However, even if your style is not modern, you will find things you like in this store- I think there is something for everyone there.

It has a great babies and kids section in the back. Look at all that fun baby stuff!

This little rocking "moped" was so adorable. The Little One is teething right now, and his facial expression in this photo is the result of trying his hardest to reach over and chew on the wood. He was so intensely interested in it!

Upstairs there is a clearance center with lots of fun bargains, and to the right there is a gently used area of kitchenware, decor and furniture from the 60s and 70s that fit beautifully into the modern style of decor that they sell on the bottom half of the store.

Our last stop in this area was dinner at Bob's. The downtown location is my new favorite because they have gluten free hamburger buns! At the Birch Bay location I usually order the Fresh Mushroom Burger without the bun (and sauce- it contains gluten), so I had to try it with a gluten-free bun and it was SO good! It was such a treat to eat a hamburger in a bun and it had a great flavor.

So, what about you? Have you ever accidentally discovered a fun "new" area in your city?

Nostalgia

2011-12-01T23:11:00.009-08:00

When I was small, my sheep-raising Great Aunt Virginia once gave me a small, hand-made wool sheep to decorate with for the holidays. It was soft because it was made from pure lambs wool spun into the shape of a sheep's body. Black pipe cleaners formed the legs, ears and nose, and a thin red cord made a beautiful, loopy bow around its neck. Every year I loved the tradition of seeing it unpacked from the old cardboard box (with a picture of child's ice skates on the front), picking it up, possibly molding it back to shape after its long season of being stored, holding it and then carefully placing it out on display for all to see.

Eventually I grew up, and got engaged and it was time for me to (excitedly) pack my belongings in preparation for my marriage, after which I would be leaving my parent's farm and moving half way across the continent to my new home. After I had packed up what I wanted to take with me from my childhood bedroom, there were a few more things that needed to come with me when I left, and my little wool sheep made its way into one of the boxes bound for my new home.

Years later, this little sheep is still a beautiful reminder of how special this time of year was to me when I was a child and I've been placing it out amongst my pine cones and snowflakes and loving the memories that flood back each time I catch a glance of it.

As I was meandering through the Winter Farmers Market in Bellingham a couple of weeks ago, I came upon a booth selling, among other things, beautiful hand-made felted animals. There were the cutest owls and song birds, as well as a beautiful nativity scene complete with shepherds..... and sheep. As soon as I saw the sheep, I knew what to do. I brought one home with us for The Little One. It is soft felted lamb's wool, with a black face and black feet. It has a beautiful loopy bow around its neck complete with the sweetest little silver jingle bell.

I wanted The Little One to have the excitement that comes from traditions being played out year after year. To have his own little sheep to place on the mantle.

My Baby Must-Haves, 3-6 Months

2011-11-30T19:00:00.001-08:00

It's time for the second installment of my "Must-Haves" posts. My 0-3 month choices are listed here. I am still using most of the items listed in that post, but we have weaned The Little One from the swaddle blanket now since he can roll over. I must admit that as he gets older, a few of the "must-haves" become more like "favorite things" and not so much something that you couldn't interchange with another similar product. However, these are the products that I have used the most in the last three months and am LOVING right now. So without further ado, and in no particular order, I give you my 3-6 month must-haves.

The first item I am going to mention is an Exersaucer or similar product. This one was a hand-me-down and I am so thankful for it. As you can see, The Little One loves spending time in this thing! I love this version because the legs have some spring and the baby can jump around a bit as well as practice standing. Some models have solid legs and I highly suggest one with some bounce.

The second item I am going to mention is a two part item, the Bumbo seat with Play Tray. I never thought we would need a Bumbo chair, since we already seemed to have a house full of baby paraphernalia, but we received a used one as a gift from one of The Mr.'s co-workers and I love it!

I found the tray at a consignment shop for $6.99. When The Little One was younger, it helped him to be able to sit up sooner and watch what was going on around him. Now I am using the chair along with the tray as an early highchair. I love the tray because it keeps the baby in the chair and if they arch their back, they soon learn that it isn't going to get them anywhere.

Next we have the Skwish. In my opinion, the very first toy for any baby should be the Skwish. We have the "classic" as shown in the image above, but it also comes in other color combinations as well as natural wood tone. This wooden rattle is incredibly easy for young babies to grasp and it was the first toy our little guy hung on to, as well as the first toy he brought to his mouth. It makes a sweet wooden rattle sound when you shake it and I think that it's just noisy enough to keep a baby from losing interest. A teething baby also likes to chew on the wood parts of the Skwish.

Yes, my fourth item is a toy as well, but this one is specifically for teething. The Sophie the Giraffe Teether is one of the baby toys that is played with the most in our house. The Little One loves to chew it, fling it around, and squeeze it. It is made of natural rubber and must feel good to chew during teething because it is almost always covered in drool when being played with. It has a smooth but grippy texture, so it is very easy to hold. The little one likes to hold it by one leg and move it around in the air, as it is very light. It's not one of the cheaper baby toys, but we received ours as a gift and it is something I have been so happy to have.

My KidCo Food Mill has been used so much in the past few weeks. So far it has ground everything that I have tried to put in it. I also want to mention Momtastic's Wholesome Baby Food website, which is an amazing resource for moms and healthy, hungry, growing babies. :)

These Munchkin Soft Tip spoons are the perfect puree spoons in my opinion. They are longer than some baby spoons, which makes aiming easier when you have a wiggly baby that is just learning to eat solids. The spoons are also deeper than most baby spoons, and I find them perfect for those thinner purees that would just run off a regular baby spoon as well as the thicker stuff.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the KidCo PeaPod, which is essentially a travel baby bed. However, when you compare it to a regular travel bed or Pack n' Play, set up is faster, it folds down quickly and easily, folds way smaller, is very light (a small child could carry it), and it has the added bonus of being covered so you can use it outdoors as a bug free, shaded environment for your baby to relax.

The PeaPod comes with a blow up mattress but we haven't used it yet, as our little guy sleeps just fine on top of a blanket or the oval sleeping-bag-like blanket that is provided with the PeaPod. Once he is older I am sure he will appreciate having the mattress for padding. So far we have used this for numerous overnight visits to friends homes and have even used it while sleeping on our boat. It is nice to have such a familiar and safe place for The Little One to sleep no matter where we are staying the night.

That concludes my 3-6 Month Must Haves!

Watch Me Grow!

2011-11-28T18:00:00.004-08:00

When The Little One was 2 weeks old, I took a photo of him on the chair in the nursery. He was so tiny! Since then, I've taken a photo of him on the same chair once a month and this is the result so far.

Two Weeks Old- just over 7lbs, tiny and helpless. (I love his fresh pink skin and skinny newborn legs.)

One Month Old- chubs!

Two Months Old- "Hey, is this thing attached to me?" (Found his hands.)

Three Months Old- "Take the photo quick... before I fall over!"

Four Months Old- "Check it out mom, I have feet! Isn't that cool?"

Five Months Old

Six Months Old- around 16 lbs!

Six months, but laying down. Compare this to his two week photo.... my Little One is growing up so quickly!

Thankful

2011-11-24T22:19:00.014-08:00

Words simply cannot express how thankful I am for my little family of three. The Lord is good!

O taste and see that the Lord is good...
Psalms 34:8

You might notice something new - The Little One is teething and has the beginnings of four teeth coming through the gums! What a little trooper. Correction: three teeth, I thought the fourth one was coming in too, but just felt in his mouth today (11/28) and it's puffy, but still smooth as a baby's.... gums.

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with The Little One for the first time. (Side note: I love these two handsome guys so much!)

For dinner we had Parisian salad, cranberry sauce, Martinelli's sparkling apple cider, garlic mashed potatoes, roast turkey breast, maple butter baked yams, and gravy. We truly do live in a land of plenty.

Dessert was crust-less pumpkin pie served in goblets, with whipped cream of course.

I am one happy momma. Being a mother is indescribably special. I am so thankful to be The Mr.'s wife and now I'm a momma too - what more could I ask for?!

....O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever.
Psalm 30:12

An Exciting Day in the San Juans

2011-09-14T06:00:00.004-07:00

Napper and Cheerful came up to go out on the boat with us and warm clear weather was in the forecast. It was a perfect day for a visit to the San Juans and we hopped in the boat nice and early and headed out towards one of our favorite islands - James Island. However, we were met with something new on our way there which made us quickly change plans. Check it out!

Hmm, looks a little like a cloud up ahead!

BAM! Um... hello? Anyone out there? Please don't hit us if you are! The fog got so thick, SO quick.

As you can see, it was a little scary so we turned back to where we had last seen blue skies.

The visibility slowly got better, but Napper pointed out that it was actually following us! Thankfully it couldn't keep up with us even though it was traveling in the same direction. It was such a good feeling when we finally got out of the fog!

Once we were out of the fog we felt so relieved to see the blue skies again, and I am sure the captain of this boat was as well! When we were in the fog and had slowed to a crawl, a white fishing boat went speeding past us going the opposite direction. They were a safe distance away from us, but I don't know what they were thinking. With such low visibility I think it was irresponsible, it sure surprised us and I am so thankful we were kept safe. Hopefully they had radar.

The wall of fog.

The tip of Mt. Baker showing over the top.

Since our plans for a visit to James Island were put aside, we decided to make another visit to Lopez Island. Here are Cheerful and Napper in front of Fisherman's Bay.

And us. :)

On our way home, I shot these photos of boats and homes around the bay. It is a beautiful Island.

We decided to go to Friday Harbor for dinner and the water was beautiful!

When we were just about to the harbor, we were alerted by the red Bay Watch boat that we needed to slow way down and stay away because the whales were in the area! We would have totally missed seeing them if they wouldn't have alerted us, as they were quite far away. This is at max zoom and all I caught were splashes and blows. I have one photo with a fluke in it, but it's pretty blurry. There is proof of four Orcas in this photo, but there were many more spotted than four, as I'm fairly certain I saw a lot more than that at once. The Orca Network doesn't have the sighting up yet, and I figure that is on purpose, but here are photos of the Orcas on the 20th. Here are the pictures a local tour boat took of Orcas that day, but in a different area of the San Juans.

Schooner Zodiac

Victoria Clipper III

I love the different tones of the far away islands.

The Little One is all cozy for his nap on the way home.

The harbor seal haul out on the Semiahmoo breakwater.

I like the flock of birds caught mid flight in the background.

Semiahmoo marina and Canadian mountains to the left, Blaine marina to the right and do you see the air balloons?

The lighting was so pretty as we pulled into the marina.

Now THAT'S a piece of driftwood if I've ever seen one! It makes for a beautiful photo opportunity, especially with the water so glassy.

The Little One Visits The Northwest WA Fair

2011-09-12T06:00:00.004-07:00

We had a lovely day and it was a lovely chance to meet up with some cousins and go to the NW WA Fair in Lynden! It was fun introducing The Little One to all the animals, even though he had no clue what was really going on.

Little piggies- a few in the stall and a few on The Little One.

These crazy eight ponies can run very fast and this is one of the most exciting things to watch! See this video from last year.

The whole gang watching the horse show. Can anyone think of a good blog nickname for Bri's little brother? He is sadly lacking one!

Looking confused. "Now tell me again, what's the point of all these horses running around?"

A fun age - old enough to be interested in what's going on!

I love Bri's dimple!

New to us this year were the chariot races, which were a blast to watch. My favorite was the two horse race, shown in the video below, but the four horse races were fun too.

There were lots of neat booths to look through and I did a little shopping. I bought The Little One his first Schleich animal - a Clydesdale foal, since the draft horses are my favorite.

A John Deere tractor painted pink for breast cancer awareness.

Boys love dump trucks! It was amazing to see that he knew what to do with it as soon as he saw it. He got right down in the grass and started driving it around and collecting rocks to fill up the back.

This little calf was in the nursery and had just been born that morning.

These piglets had been born the Thursday before. They were so cute! There were more piglets than teats so there was a boy in the pen offering a bottle to whoever got left out, that is why you see the two piglets heading off in the other direction. It was amazing to see the size difference between some of these piglets, some were easily twice the weight of their siblings. There were 13 gilts (females) and 3 boars (males.)

Let us know if you want to go to the fair next year! It's a fun fair with lots of great exhibits, rides, shows and tons of animal barns to walk through. We missed out, but on the same day we were at the fair, they made a new world record for most people on a hay ride with 639. They more than doubled the last record at 239 people. They also made a new record for attendance with 43,138 visitors on the Saturday we were there. A lot of people for a small town fair!

A Visit to Lopez Island

2011-09-08T14:12:00.007-07:00

We were so happy to have our cousin Brooke come out and visit us once again. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water. In the morning it was a little cool, but later in the day the sun burned the clouds away and it was one of the nicest days we could have asked for! We decided to head over to Lopez Island and visit their Farmers Market, which is always entertaining and definitely yummy. It was fun to show Brooke one of our favorite little places to visit.

If you are headed out on a boat, make sure not to forget a hat for your baby or he will end up wearing pants on his head with the legs tied in a knot! At least I had extra pants with me lol.

Do you see the two reef-net fishing boats on the right? Someone stands up high on the ladder and directs the others as to when there are salmon in the net. The San Juan islands are home to the only reef-netting operations in the world, as it is a technique started by the Lummi People. If you are interested in seeing how reef-netting works, click here for a video showing the process.

One of several old reef-net boats discarded on the spit at the mouth of Fisherman's Bay on Lopez island.

A driftwood stringer on sale at the farmer's market.

Our lunch of choice - Cosmic Crepes to the far left of this photo. They also serve gluten-free crepes!

The little one relaxing in the shade under the umbrella of a picnic table. He is almost too big for this elephant onesie - one of the first things I ever bought for him.

Almost everything at the market is local, including these colorful skeins of yarn. They sell honey, jams, hot sauces, vegetables, flowers, seafood, beef, lamb, photography, jewelry, housewares, music, clothing and crafts.

Bass banjo, accordion and mandolin join the singers voice, entertaining us with old fishing songs and folk songs.

Fisherman's Village is home to many old buildings like this one. Each one has a history, one of them is an old lighthouse building from up in Canada somewhere and has been turned into a gourmet chocolate factory.

Fisherman's Bay

Broad-Leafed Peavine

Brooke

Mom J

This is Lady Washington in the waters near Semiahmoo. It was the busy Blaine Saturday of Drayton Harbor Days, and Lady Washington along with her traveling companion Hawaiian Chieftain were reenacting a battle. You can actually go on a sunset sail and they shoot off the cannon too, which I think would be so much fun to do once The Little One is old enough to appreciate it.

Two tall ships with a couple of local boats thrown in the mix.

I think this shot looks neat in black and white, almost looks like an old photo if it wasn't for the modern sailboat in the background.

Well, If you're ever in the area in early August, make sure to check out Drayton Harbor Days, it's a lot of fun! Lopez Island is also accessible by ferry, so don't feel like it is out of your reach, go for a visit someday! You won't regret it.

4 Months Old!

2011-09-02T14:03:00.008-07:00

Today is The Little One's 4 month birthday and I thought I would share a few photos from the last two months.

Two Months:

Every Lord's Day morning he gets dressed in his Sunday best and lays in the play pen until it is time to leave for Sunday School. This time he fell asleep and I had to snap a photo because this hadn't happened for many weeks!

At 12 weeks old I opened up a bag of 3-6m size hand-me-downs from his cousin Jack and this sleeper was already way too small. That was the day I went through all of his clothes and organized them by size, not what the tag says!

He started batting at toys with his hands at around 12 weeks. Feet came way before this.

Unplanned matching.

Chubby tummy!

Hanging out in the Bumbo seat is one of his favorite things to do. (And no, we don't leave it on high surfaces like this chair anymore!)

Three months:

One day he was fussy so I turned on the swing and he ended up falling asleep in it. I think this was during a growth spurt or right after one, he was sleeping so much! Sleeping in the swing is a special treat for him, since he is usually swaddled in his crib for sleeps. He looks so relaxed, it makes me want to go for a nap right now!

It looks like he loves Red Robin just as much as I do!

His shirt is true.

Keeping me company while I work in the flowerbeds.

The Little One dressed like a little man. I bought this tie many, many years ago (7 or 8) for 25 cents and have held onto it this entire time with the desire of having a son to wear it!

This Skwish ball is the first toy any baby should have. The Little One loves his because it is so easy to grasp, it is lightweight and the wooden beads make a quiet rattle sound. I should really save this info for my 3-6 months "must-haves" post.

He's moving his arms and kicking a lot these days, which makes for a lot of photos with blurry hands and feet.

Tummy time!

Well that concludes our post, if you want to see more, click here for his 2 month album and here for his 3 month album.

Boat Camping in Fossil Bay

2011-08-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

Recently we went on our first boat camping trip as three! What an amazing event it was. We set off on a Friday evening and decided to spend the night anchored in one of the most beautiful places in the San Juan islands, Fossil Bay at Sucia Island.

The Mr. checks the weather forecast before we make any trip out on the water, and this particular night it had predicted 1-3' waves. We were quite surprised and happy to see this smooth water, and the trip over to Sucia was very relaxing.

On the left is Orcas Island, on the right is Sucia.

Pulling into Fossil Bay.

Dropping Anchor

The Little One going down for a nap in the bow of the boat. He has his famous "I'm not tired Mommy!" look on his face -eyes wide open! We helped convince him it was nap time by putting a towel over the port-hole to make his cozy nest nice and dark.

My favorite view at Sucia is when the sun is setting over the little strip of island that separates Fossil Bay from Fox Cove.

Our dinner that evening was simple but satisfying. Franks with fried onions, pork n' beans and a green salad.

Time for bed! There is something so fun about getting ready for bed while in the great outdoors. It's so calm and peaceful. The little one was asleep in the cabin while we cleaned up our dinner dishes and settled for the night, but he was eventually transferred to his PeaPod which was set up in the main area of the boat. He actually slept fairly well all things considered, we weren't sure how it would go. It was a shorter sleep, but a better one than I think we both had expected. There are boats coming and going and also other strange noises out on the water that could easily disrupt his sleep. We had draped a blanket over the PeaPod to keep out the early morning light, and I do think that it was good for extra warmth as well, even though he was bundled up like an Eskimo baby.

In the AM he got some snuggle time with Mommy and Daddy in the cabin. I think here it looks like he is saying something like "Whoa daddy, what happened last night? What's going on here? Where are we?!" he seemed a bit disoriented.

The breakfast for boating champions. Scrambled eggs, sausage patties and fried red potatoes.

Another nap. Oh how I love this sweet, sweet sleeping baby!

"Well hello there."

Check out those toothless gums. Love 'em.

This Bungalow360 small satchel was a baby shower gift and it has proved to be an excellent gift. It is the perfect size and shape for a couple of diapers, a wipes case, an extra onesie, paci etc. when hiking or walking somewhere and the diaper bag is too bulky to carry. Just thought I'd mention it in case someone else is looking to solve the same problem. I wear it over my shoulder, and even loaded with all the above mentioned items, I can still fit in my camera as well.

This sweet older woman rowed to our boat and as we struck up a conversation with her, she offered to give us a lift to the island, which was so kind of her! We did have a raft with us and just hadn't blown it up yet, but it really made our day to meet someone so kind.

When we did blow up our raft and make our way to the island, we decided to go on a hike. Sucia has such beautiful walking trails.

Mt. Baker as viewed from Echo Bay.

To the left is South Finger Island in Echo bay. Sucia's many small surrounding islands make it so interesting, click here for the map and notice all the little islands and the neat shapes they form.

This is the Echo Bay campground area. Many people anchor their boats in the bay and kayak or dingy their camping supplies to this area as there are no docks in this bay.

Our destination is to the left!

The China Caves. I can't find a good link right now, but rumor has it (I'll call it a rumor currently, as I can't find proof, although this information is posted on many different sites) that Chinese slaves escaped and hid in these caves and that is how they became known as the China Caves. There are amazing spots where you can go inside, but we didn't do any climbing.

A sandy beach can be found in Shallow Bay right in front of the China Caves. This is something that is somewhat rare in the San Juans as they are mostly rocky.

The Mr. and The Little One just chillin' in the shade. It was a hot day!

Grins for daddy.

Shallow Bay

Madrone

Our Boat hanging out at anchor. We can't wait to go out again!

Say Cheese!

2011-08-12T12:34:00.006-07:00

SMILE buddy!........

What Mommy?.......

Oh, you said smile? How's this?.......

Okay, okay..... how's this?......

........oh come on Mommy, just take the picture already, I'm blushing!

My Baby Must-Haves, 0-3 Months

2011-08-10T12:00:00.004-07:00

It is crazy to think that our Little One is 14 weeks old. He is starting to laugh, reach for toys and has started grabbing his thighs during diaper changes. He loves to catch the eye of someone nearby with his smile and has graduated to using a talking voice to get our attention when he is bored instead of crying. He is getting louder... his crying is louder, his jabbering is louder and his burps are louder!

During these first three months, I have used a few items that I would call my "must-haves." I thought it would be fun to list them here, and then post updates in the months to come as to what I find most useful for each stage. It is true that not much is really needed for a baby, aside from some sort of diapers (be it cloth or disposables), clothing, blankets and a car seat, but there are some products out there that have been so great that I think it's worth mentioning them.

When I was a nanny I was introduced to the Miracle Blanket. At first The Mr. and I didn't buy one ourselves, as we were having success swaddling our baby with large flannel receiving blankets. However, soon came the day when The Little One could easily wiggle his way out of the receiving blanket swaddle, even if I used two and double swaddled him with the help of YouTube videos, he would manage to get out of it. So, I definitely suggest the Miracle Blanket because we picked one up and started using it immediately and I truly think that a good swaddle is an important step in helping your baby get a good night's sleep.

The second item I love right now is my Moby Wrap. I use the hug hold and find this wrap very supportive for both baby and mommy. I like how the weight of the baby is evenly distributed and there are no straps to dig into or pull on my shoulders. The Little One weighs around 14 lbs now and I am still comfortable carrying him in the wrap. I often wear him in the wrap when I know he is going to need a nap and the stroller is not an option for where we are at the time. I have had him nap in the Moby while visiting the outdoors with friends and family, walking around a disc golf course and also for hiking in the San Juan Islands.

The Little One sleeps in his crib, and the Angel Care Movement and Sound Monitor gives us peace of mind as to his safety. This monitor not only monitors sound, but it has a sensor pad that goes under the crib mattress that is sensitive enough to detect breathing movements. It is incredible. In the first few weeks of The Little One's life, I don't know if I would have slept at all without this product. It was so nice to be able to look over at the digital parent unit on my bedside table and watch the little pendulum swing back and forth, which shows that the monitor in the nursery is still picking up movement from the baby. If at any point movement is not detected, an alarm sounds on both the parent unit and nursery unit.

We use Weleda Baby Calendula Shampoo and Body Wash at every bath. For a while The Little One had quite a struggle with baby acne on his face, shoulders, chest and upper back. When we were at the S family's home for a visit, I borrowed this wash while bathing The Little One as I had left my regular baby wash upstairs in the spare room. That day I noticed a considerable clearing of his skin, and over the course of our stay his acne cleared up almost completely with the continued use of the Weleda product. I immediately went out and bought some and haven't used any other wash on his skin since.

The last item I will share today is the On Becoming Baby Wise along with the blog Chronicles of a Baby Wise Mom. I know that this book has had a bad rap in some circles, but like all things, you have to take it with a grain of salt. Above all things, a mom has to do what is best for her baby at all times and listen to the cues the baby is giving her. I started a routine with The Little One when he was just a few weeks old and we have continued that till this day. For the first two months we were flexible with his schedule, but focused on being consistent with his routine of "eat, wake, sleep." Now that he is 3 months old, this routine has led him to naturally fall into a schedule. His daily schedule changes by 30 minutes here or there if he wakes earlier, is hungry earlier or there are other factors involved, but generally he follows the same pattern every day. At 14 weeks old, he is eating every three hours between 7am and 7pm, goes to bed at 7:30 pm, has a dream feed at 10pm, and is sleeping 8 1/2 hrs through the night. I highly suggest Baby Wise and the blog Chronicles of a Baby Wise Mom is an amazing resource, answering all sorts of questions a Baby Wise mom might have.

So there you have it, my Baby Must-Haves for 0-3 months!

Our 1st Boat Ride as Three!

2011-08-06T08:00:00.001-07:00

We were out on the water by 9:00 am, having a Little One works well as an alarm clock! Packing up the boat and getting on the water that early makes for a nice long day.

It was a very clear day. If you look closely in this photo (left side, and to the right of center), you can see two downtowns. Vancouver and North Vancouver maybe? Maybe someone who knows the area more could tell me.

Calm waters!

The Little one taking a nap in the bouncy seat. Thanks to Sallad and Grace for that amazing idea. The bouncy seat gently rocks the baby the whole time and it is a great comfy spot for them to sit or nap.

After a diaper change.

His adorable little life vest.

Eating our lunch on Jones Island.

Lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, bacon, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and Italian dressing.

The small dock at Jones Island is hard to find a spot at, but after we had secured a state park buoy, tied up, blew up our raft and started assembling the paddles, a boat left and no one else was in line for the spot- so rare! So we untied and grabbed the spot before someone else came along. It was so nice to have a spot on the dock.

Then Sallad and Grace came along in their boat to join us. Here is Little A, all ready to come see us. They rafted to our boat, so they had dock access as well. It was really cool to be able to meet up with them at the island because it had been too long since we had done something like this. They brought Lily and her family with them as well, which was so much fun!

Bri climbing over the huge fallen tree across the path to our picnic spot.

The Little One

Looking out towards Yellow Island. Yellow Island is located directly behind the sailboat in this photo and is known for it's wildflowers in Spring. Jones island is about 190 acres, fairly small, but not as small as Yellow Island, which is 11 acres.

Look how clear and beautiful the water was!

Lily's youngest, Chiquita, has hair the color of Madrone bark.

The crew, minus The Mr., Lily and myself.

Looking straight up, the wavy looking clouds almost gave you the feeling like you were looking down towards water.

Chiquita was such a bright splash of color amongst all the greys and browns of this dry corner of the island where several (rare to this area and therefore protected) colonies of prickly pear cactus can be found.

Several Harvest Lilies were spotted along our walk.

Black tailed deer live on this island and they are very accustomed to being close to humans.

I love the green carpet of Salal bushes.

Getting ready to head out for dinner. I'd like to see the shot Steve is taking in this photo from Sallad and Grace's boat. :)

We decided on Friday Harbor, and took off for dinner.

I rocked The Little One to sleep and propped him up in the umbrella stroller. Thankfully he slept through dinner! The paci really helps when we are in public.

We ate at Haley's Bait Shop, a favorite of mine.

And of course dessert was found at the Friday Harbor Ice Cream Co. where you can choose from 72 flavors! They even have several dairy free flavors of sorbet, which was an awesome surprise for a couple of us who can't eat dairy!

MMM! Chiquita and I both had this mixed berry sorbet, and it was really yummy.

Thanks for such a fun day guys! I am so glad we got together.

The Little One Visits Banff, AB

2011-08-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

He looks a little concerned to be sitting in his car seat again, but really he was concentrating hard on his brightly colored mirror.

There was a crazy traffic jam on the highway.... what's that up ahead?

A house! Wider than a double-wide trailer too, and being transported all in one piece.

The Little One wearing his little peanut shirt, which he is now completely too big for!

The weather in Banff was perfect!

Doesn't look like it to me!

We stayed at The Banff Park Lodge thanks to a good deal via good ol' Priceline.

Regina Bible Conference

2011-08-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that I didn't take very many photos at the actual conference. Most of these photos are of the picnic at my parents house the day after. This year the conference was in Winston Knoll Collegiate and it was such a great location! Air conditioning, lots of room to move around, a gym for the kids to play in, a nursery, plenty of bathrooms and it had an amazing kitchen facility.

There were always arms ready to hold The Little One. Here he is snuggled in the arms of Grampa.

A big yawn for Great Grandma, or Nana as I always called her.

Kitten taking good care of The Little One.

There was a great turnout for the Monday picnic at my parents house and the weather was gorgeous.

Jack devouring his hotdog without eating the bun ha ha. He basically peeled back the bun like a banana, ate the meat and then walked around with the "peel" in his hand like it was something gross to throw out.

My dad set up a golf hole and The Mr. and Hosh (Jolly's hubby) looked to Uncle Bruce for tips.

Kitten showing me her "worms". Ew, tent caterpillars!

I thought it was funny that the girls were the ones working and the boys were the ones along for the ride. It was so cute! These girls pushed and pulled the boys all over the yard, sometimes going so fast it was worrisome! This is our childhood wagon that dad recently spiffed up with a new paint job and new wheels.

My parents have worked hard, and it shows because the yard is so beautiful! Good job you guys.

You can see the flooded lake from their yard. This end of the lake is usually marshland and a natural habitat for birds and animals in the area, but the last two years it has been flooded and I do wonder if it will ever recede! There is so much water in Saskatchewan right now, it is incredible.

Hosh practicing his swing.

The Contest

My dad is officially retired from farming, and while we were there a grain bin moving company came. They were removing the bins and delivering them to their new owners. It was very interesting to watch. They back up to the bin, move the cradle up into place, tie a strap around the base of the bin and then bring the cradle back down towards the ground until the bin falls into it. Then they secure the bin with more straps and off they go.

This granny is one hard worker, she ran straps around the bin, yelled instructions and helped the whole process to go so smoothly. We were so surprised to see an older couple like this running such a crazy operation- those bins are enormous!

Mom's roses were all in full bloom.

A pretty little rooster.

Dad took me for a drive in the valley on his Gator. It's quite the off-road vehicle and I was surprised at it's power.

The Spring. Can you see the water coming out of the pipe?

The Little One loved cuddling with Gramma.

Kitten trying out the Gator.

The Moon!

A Visit to my Childhood Stomping Grounds

2011-07-31T08:00:00.001-07:00

I guess this post should really be titled KIDS! I definitely took a lot of kid photos. :) To take The Little One to his grandparents house and introduce him to my family really was amazing. He is the fourth grandbaby in the family and there was a lot of love waiting for him there.

At my sister Jolly's house two little cousins were waiting to meet him. Kitten loved holding him and was quite the little mother! Bouncing him and putting the paci in his mouth whenever he spit it out.

Grampa

Another cousin introduction was made when Lyr and his family came out to the farm for a visit. It was Lyr's 2nd birthday so we celebrated with cake and gifts! He is so adorable and such a sweet little two year old.

Present opening time, with some help of course. :)

That afternoon the weather was HOT but not too hot for the kiddy pool.

Lyr and his precious eyelashes.

Jack

Kitten, or Small Fry as I like to call her. (She always replies "I'm not a small fry!")

Popsicle drips pooling in the waistband of a diaper are hilarious. I love this grin too! Just like my brother when he was a boy! Like father like son.

Grampa really has such a soft spot for his grandkids. He poured out a bucket of sand on the shady patio for a makeshift sandbox.

"What do think of this here watermelon?" "I don't know, it's a little on the drippy side..."

This tired little boy wearing nothing but a diaper and mittens fell asleep on mommy for a nap, so cute! I guess he loves those mittens. :)

The Little One started smiling SO much on this trip and started sleeping longer at night, a few times he slept 8 hours through the night and surprised me! He is getting so big!

On The Road Again

2011-07-28T20:15:00.001-07:00

After our visit in Walla Walla, we decided to head towards Regina, SK and stop somewhere on the way for 2 nights. The first few hours of the trip were my favorite, as we drove through rolling green hills. It was so beautiful!

The Little One slept so well in his car seat, we were very thankful. His hair lays flat on his head now, I miss this little "buzz cut" of hair he had when it first grew in!

We happened to stop for a bathroom & diaper changing break at the continental divide, which was a fun surprise! It was neat to remember seeing it from my Amtrak train, and to be able to stand and take a photo this time instead of rushing on by so quickly.

Finlay Bridge in Medicine Hat, built in 1908, was once the largest bridge in Western Canada and the most important bridge across the South Saskatchewan River.

The Saamis Teepee

About 10 minutes from my parents house, we saw a lake where there was once was a small winding river and miles of hay fields. There has been so much flooding this year I don't think the shape of the valley floor will ever be the same. If you go to YouTube and search Saskatchewan 2011 Flooding, there are all sorts of videos that show the destruction. I think this one is interesting. Most of the videos are from April, but even now in July there are still bike paths under water in Regina and all along the river there are lakes where there was once deep riverbeds.

Walla Walla, Wa

2011-07-26T20:45:00.002-07:00

On the June 21st, we arrived in Walla Walla, Wa. When we first arrived, we did a little window shopping and went for coffee with The Mr.'s sister and her husband in downtown Walla Walla. It's a pretty place to spend an afternoon!

A very neat toy store.

That night we headed over to T&J's house as that was where we would be staying until the weekend. Here is a round of Rook being played. During this trip I actually learned to play Rook, and although I am not that good at it, I had a lot of fun!

The next afternoon we all went over to a friends house for a swim.

S&S have a beautiful pool and yard!

The Mr. warding off an attack.

The Little One stayed cool inside.

They not only have a pool, but sheep and chickens and a gorgeous view.

That night we had dinner at Tiki Teriyaki Grill and it was the first time in many years I was able to have teriyaki, as they make their own sauce and it is gluten-free. It was SO good!

The day after that we took a hike on some paths nearby and the W kids had some friends along. It was a beautiful day.

Poppies

Blue Heron

Wild Rose

Blue Heron

A and A in the tall grain.

Sometimes the river is diverted here when it gets too full to run through town, but the canal was dry so we could walk across it.

Snake! I also see some sort of animal tracks maybe? It looks like something with claws was scratching it's way along.

Little K's solution to lawn mower noise! So cute.

The girls loved The Little One and helped me out so much by keeping him company.

Little K's 3rd birthday party.

The Mr. and The Little One

This is the only photo I managed to get, but the yard was FULL of kids and water and toys were strewn everywhere. So much fun for Little K's birthday!

A warning.

Gift opening time.

An excited birthday girl.

Our visit to Walla Walla was so much fun!

Visiting the S Family

2011-07-15T19:00:00.003-07:00

Half way through June, we packed our bags and went on a three week trip. Our first of many stops was to visit Phone Guy and Princess, who just two weeks before our visit had moved to a farm! Their four little ones now have so much room to run and play and a fun farm environment to spend their time in. The house is a beautiful 100 year old farm house on land, and the yard is complete with gardens, chickens, turkeys, a gigantic play structure and a beautiful view on all sides. Here's the photos I was able to shoot during our visit. I am definitely not taking as many photos as I did before The Little One arrived, but I am slowly getting back in the habit and enjoying it once again!

Allen having a glass of water before taking me on a tour of their farmyard.

The turkeys and chickens belong to the owners of the home, so the S's don't have to take care of them. I think it is so fun to have animals in the yard for the kids to watch, and feed kitchen scraps to. :)

Gobble Gobble!

There are many pens of chickens on the farm, and in this particular coop the chickens have been roosting in the pine tree of all places, it is a sight to see!

Allen is getting to be quite the young man!

As I walked around, The Little One napped soundly in the Moby Wrap.

Construction vehicles all in a row.

Princess shares her flower gardens with a few trucks here and there.... and everywhere! :) Soon that may be case here as well, since The Little One already has quite the collection himself.

Beautiful flowerbeds surround the house.

The house is full of the beautiful things that come with old houses - massive wooden doors, tall ceilings, skeleton key holes, old fashioned door knobs, built-in cabinets and even a clawfoot tub.

Here is the built-in china hutch and if you look past the kitchen, you can see the baking center and old farmhouse sink.

Julabeans enjoys her exersaucer in the sunny playroom.

Nap Time!

The little one was the only boy sleeping at the time, but I think the other two in the room did drift off eventually and Allen was quietly playing outside.

MMM, fresh baking!

The Mr. and The Little One enjoying a perfect afternoon in the shade.

This was The Little One's first time laying outdoors, and he seemed to really enjoy it.

Princess brought Julabeans out to enjoy the cool shade as well.

I love those tiny daisies often found in grass.

Tiny Fingers

Tiny Toes

Look how cute they are!

The Mr. on his first Father's Day!

Playing disc golf at Dabney State Recreation Area.

Boys will be boys!

Dabney is beautiful in the early summer when the rhodys are blooming.

Julabeans all snuggled in for a nap.

The Little One Visits Seattle

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If you are looking for a relaxing time and have a low budget and little time to plan, I highly suggest you do what The Mr. did a few weekends ago! (Disclaimer: This is not an advertisement and I am not being compensated to say this.) He used Priceline.com to get a hotel right in the Seattle Center area of downtown Seattle for a steal of a deal. With Priceline, you choose the area you are looking to stay in, the number of stars you want for the hotel and the price you are willing to pay, and other than those three variables, you never know what you are going to get. This time it turned out so awesome. Not only was the hotel a Hilton brand hotel called Homewood Suites, but it was just a few short blocks from Seattle Center (access to IMAX, Space Needle, Monorail to the malls and shopping area and much more) but to our surprise the hotel served a free hot breakfast as well as a free hot dinner! Have you ever heard of anything so crazy as a free dinner? It wasn't just fries and a hot dog either, each night they have a different gourmet menu.

Our room was decorated simply, but it was so nice! The fact that it was a suite was such a cool surprise. Not only did we have a full kitchen and a front room, we had a solid door that lead into the bedroom. When your sharing a hotel room with a sweet little baby that squeaks and grunts all night, separation is key to a good nights sleep!

The front room, a.k.a. the nursery. :)

Our free dinner that night was amazing, it was Mexican food! The dinner is served buffet style and the evening we were there they served tacos (hard shell, soft tortilla or taco salad), refried beans, Mexican rice, chicken, beef, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc. They had all the toppings and actually had more than I would have expected. The food tasted so good. MMM!

The Little One in front of the Monorail sign. I tried to get a similar shot of him with the Space Needle, but the only way to successfully get the shot would have been to hold him up in the air. Since he was in the middle of his nap, we skipped that idea!

The Space Needle

The Little One's Official Marysville Baby Shower

2011-06-27T01:00:00.001-07:00

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon we drove down to The J's to attend a celebration of The Little One's arrival. Ladies came from near and far and all came bearing gifts, some even bringing gifts from others who could not attend. Everyone was extremely generous and I have just been overwhelmed with the love others have for our little baby.

Cousin Char

Aunt Val

So many cute little boy clothes!

Aunt Lorraine quilted a beautiful blanket.

Cousin Tephums

More cousins!

First kiss from a girl. :) Anna's little girl just loved him.

Yummy food! Everyone just loved it. Thank you all for your hard work!

What a beautiful day!

To all that had a part in this baby shower for our Little One, I just want to say a great big thanks. It was such a fun day and the shower was really nice. I also want to thank everyone that came, some from near and some from far- it really meant a lot to me that you were there. We are blown away by everyone's generosity and obvious love for The Little One. It is so special that he has so many that care for him in this way. Thank you!