Busy & Messy

I like to think if my computer wasn't 12 years old, if it didn't freeze up every time I tried to load a picture, I might update my blog more often. As it is, it has taken about half an hour to load the nuggets of cuteness below.

 I hope someone sees this and enjoys the results of hair pulling frustration I have endured to post this :)

Little Miss Norah has been loving her dry erase books. She's getting very good at tracing letters and shapes. Her 'guys' are also getting more detailed with hair and glasses lately.

Norah drawing 'guys'

This young man, oh my, he is BUSY. We try to fill our days with activites and outings. For Norah this planning used to just be to alleviate boredom, for Owen its more focused on burning energy!

Little O enjoying the sunshine

Norah reminds me almost daily that her birthday is coming closer and that she gets to go to school when she is a little older. We have registered her for preschool in the fall and I know she is going to love it. I can already tell she is getting bored with our usual activites. I think preschool will be a welcome change for both of us! She will be going to a small school in Hood River three days a week 8am-2pm. Until then, we are looking forward to sunny weather adventures and maybe a few summer day camps this year.

Cheesey grin while getting messy

I'm getting better about picking battles with her. While we were playing outside with chalk she found out it 'melts' when you rub it in water. While my initial reaction was to stop her since it wastes the chalk, I had to stop myself. Why not melt the chalk? It was fun, it wasn't hurting anything, she was thoroughly absorbed in what she was doing...and we've had the bucket of chalk for two years, not like we're wasting big money on it.

'melting' her chalk into gooey fun

I've tried not to direct my kids towards too many gender specific toys or activites. So I find it very interesting that Owen is already facinated with all things trucks and airplanes. A few weeks ago he started saying Big Truck while watching and listening the log trucks that pass near our house. I'm sure we have pointed them out and told him they were big trucks, but I don't feel like we've made them any bigger focus then other things. Now anytime he hears a truck, train, or airplane he must tell me about it. What a boy!

watching an airplane

he likes to point at everyting just to be sure we know where to look!

Owen is 16 almost 17 months now. I have plenty of mommy guilt over not documenting his milestones as well as I did Norah's. I console myself knowing he is a happy healthy little kid and that's more important then remembering which day he cut each tooth or added a new word.

While I'm talking teeth and words....He has four front teeth on top, cutting both top molars, and three front teeth on bottom. His vocabulary has been increasing rapidly in the last two months. It's both fun and frustrating since he still won't say Momma!

So far he says, Uh oh, nono, Kitty, dog, meow, woof, truck, duck, sis, daddy, thank you, car, dropped, stuck, pants, socks, shoes, binky, ball, hot (and will blow on hot foods)...that's all I can think of at the moment but I know there's more. I'm trying to teach him to say help instead of screeching like a stuck pig when he gets upset with something. He's about 26lbs, probably more now since I weighed him a few weeks ago, and mostly wearing 18-24mth clothes.



16 months

This year started out a little bumpy for us but things have settled down. George is enjoying his new job and we are both happy he found something local. The relief that we didn't have to move has been replaced by the want to move to a house of our own. Patience is the name of the game at this point. There was a building moratorium in our area for several years due to the inadequate water supply from the city. Although the moratorium was lifted over a year ago when the new water supply was set up, the housing prices are still rediculously high. We're very comfotable in our rental, but we are extreemly frustrated by the pot smokers that are living below us. We have confronted them several times and spoken with our landlords about it, but it seems nothing is going to come of it and we're stuck living above 'the skunks'.

Until we are able to move, we're trying to focus on enjoying life in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. The weather is warming up, the flowers are blooming, and we're starting to plan summer hikes and trips!

crazy cuties! Owen stylin his new shoes (size 5 1/2 !)





A few fun pics

Norah and Kaylee
Cute cousins only 8mths apart!

Kaylee, Owen & Norah
Fun in the kitchen

Galen giving double piggy back rides

Good thing we have a huge tub!

Happy Birthday Owen!

Sweet baby Owen!

Happy First Birthday!



Started the day by playing with a massive amounts of balloons

Owen has been walking for a few weeks and thinks he's pretty hot stuff. I miss his little bear crawl and I'm so happy I got plenty of video of it before he started walking. He's wearing mostly 18mth clothing and is a big boy! I'm very curious what his height/weight is now but his wellcheck isn't until next week. He's much bigger than Norah was at a year! 

Cupcakes! organic, dairy free, gluten free, carrot cake, and it actually tasted really good!

 He will eat pretty much anything we give him and is almost done with pureed baby food. Dairy has still been an issue so we are a little restricted sharing food with him. His current favorite foods include blueberries, carrots, rice crackers, and well, the cupcake was a hit!

He ate the whole thing!

He has been saying Uh Oh for several weeks and it's so cute. Recently he's added Wow, Kih (kitty), and Dat (that) which he says when he wants something or wants to touch something. 

Birthday boy and the 'big kids', wish I had a picture with the three other babies too!

Personality has been developing by leaps and bounds lately. And not always for the best! He is very opinionated about things that he doesn't like, and will scream and throw his little body around which will be interesting as he gets bigger! Mostly he's super happy and funny and very brave. Unlike his sister he is not shy at all. He never developed stranger fear, and while he likes to know where I am when we are out somewhere, he is quite happy to wander around and visit new people.

He had plenty of help opening presents

 He has a funny little naughty streak too. Lately he's been trying to play in the toilet (EWW). We've had to keep all the doors closed and baby gates up or he makes a bee line for the potty. Usually if I can't hear him he's quietly walking down the hall to my room to see if the door is latched so he can get to the bathroom. If he sees me coming he laughs and does an adorable fast baby shuffle walk trying to reach the door first.

Sweet boy!

 While we had it rough for a long time, his nights have improved a lot and now he's general only up once wanting to nurse. He has two naps most days but can function on just one if he has too.

I'm sure there are a million more adorable things that I've left out!

We love Love LOVE him so much! It's hard to believe he's a year old already.

Fun with Leaves

Sweet Owen getting so big

Beautiful Norah having fun gathering 'acorns'

The kids with their best buddies Leland and Kinley

Farewell Summer, it was a good one!

We've enjoyed a fantastic summer! It's been busy and full of fun with family and friends. Here's a brief recap leaving out a TON of stuff, but alas, it will have to do. Perhaps the cooler weather will inspire me to blog more often

We celebrated Nana graduating from Clark! She worked so hard for the last few years and it paid off. We watched as she walked in the commencement held at the amphitheater.



Nannie's Graduation from Clark!



This summer was the first in five years that George was home for the 4th of July. For the last several years he has had Army commitments that have kept him from celebrating with the family. Although our budget was tight we did splurge on fireworks for the big day. Norah loved it! She stayed up late to watch all the big bright explosions. Of course, Daddy helped her light a few fireworks of her own too.

Loving the sparklers

Our little town has an outdoor pool that is open for the summer. This year I braved the waters with Norah so we could do swimming lessons! It was a parent/tot class four days a week for two weeks. Norah had a lot of fun and really likes the water. Hopefully next year she will be ready for some big kid lessons so Momma and Owen can do the Tot class!

First day of swim lessons

 This summer also brought it's share of birthday partys, playdates, picnics, parks & potlucks!

In mid August we went to a dinner potluck with a bunch of friends. It was super hot that day so we picked up water balloons for the kids. For the amount of time we spent filling all the balloons, the kids wasted no time popping them.



Norah and her friend Leland soaking from water balloons

 We've met so many great people over the last two years here, and most of us have children the same age.

Babies everywhere!
Kinley, Owen, Scarlet, Ries

The big kids
Norah, Connor, Lila, Lusa, Leland

 Road Trip!

We made our annual beach trip in August to celebrate our anniversary and Norah's birthday.

We found a beautiful condo in Lincoln City right on the bay. The price was amazing and it had two bedrooms seperate from the living space, set up much like an aparment. It was perfect!

Chillin with Daddy before heading into the Tillamook Cheese Factory

 This sweet girl, she was beyond excited to go to the beach. She loves playing in sand, this was a dream come true! Needless to say, we played on the beach several times a day, followed by many many baths!

We finally arrived! Quick walk on the beach before bedtime

 Five Years.

Two Kids.

A Beautiful Life.



(Love)



 An anniversary/birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without an amazing cake from Larson's Bakery

Chocolate buttercream with raspberry filling, please refrain from licking the computer!

 Happy 3rd Birthday Norah!

Waiting, waiting, waiting...it's finally time for the cake!

 This big boy, oh my...He has changed so much this summer. He crawls, eats amazing amounts of food, is so curious about everything, and loves following his big sister around.

First time at the beach!

 This is the common Owen position! He does what we call a bear crawl, up on hands and feet instead on knees. It's crazy cute to watch and he is super fast. He's also cruzing holding on to furniture and will probably be walking before his birthday.

On his nine month checkup in Sept he was 22lbs and 29in which puts him in about the 75%. He's already bigger than Norah was at one year.

At Norah's three year checkup she was 29lbs and 36in, which puts her in about the 30%.

He's catching up fast, soon he's going to be her Big little brother!

Bear Crawl!

  The summer also brought a few things we could have done without.

Wildfires.

There was a fire a few weeks ago just outside of White Salmon. Although we weren't in danger, it did come very close to friends of ours and was pretty frightening. The smoke has been awful. Currently there is a fire across the river from us which is almost out. I believe the fire by Mt Adams is also still burning. 

Milepost 66 fire, burning along the Hatfield trial, picture taken from our kitchen

As the summer comes to an end, we are starting new adventures. This sweet little lady is taking dance lessons! Tomorrow will be her second class, I have to drop her off this time which is a first for me and makes me a little nervous. She loved the first class and I know she will do just fine.

After the holidays we're considering enrolling her in preschool.

What a big girl!

First day of ballet class

 October is here and we are looking forward to the cooler weather.

Pumpkin patch here we come!