The other day I saw Mark out mowing the lawn after work (it is growing like crazy thanks to the cool, wet weather). It wasn't long before I saw a little flash of color following him around...Allison grabbed her new (to her) Cozy Coupe and pushed it around after Mark like she was mowing herself. It was pretty cute! She was a little dejected when she was left in the back yard as you can tell in the top picture.
On Monday Allison went in to have tubes put in her ears. She has had several ear infections in the past year and more importantly, she has had fluid in her ears almost constantly. Our pediatrician referred us to an ear, nose, throat specialist at her 2-year-check-up after she failed the hearing test we asked for. The pediatrician warned us the ENT specialist we were going to see was conservative so not to be disappointed if he didn't recommend tubes. Well, the ENT specialist gave us two options - have tubes put in or come back every couple of months to have her ears checked for damage. I guess she was a straightforward case for the conservative specialist! We opted for tubes, we wanted her hearing to improve. So, on Monday she had the surgery. I have to admit I was a bit nervous having her put under like that. She was a real trooper, though! The beginning of the morning was a bit rough (no food or drink) and she did not enjoy having us take her pajama's off and attempt to put her in the hospital gown. She wasn't so keen on having her vitals checked either. But once her nurse, Tim, and anesthesiologist, Anna, arrived she warmed up. She left us, being carried by Nurse Tim into the operating room. The procedure was short and quick and we were able to come see her just as she was waking up and protesting the recovery nurse doing anything. In the picture above we were just about to leave. She liked to call the bed 'my bed' but she did NOT want to sit on it. I don't think she really did, either, unless she was under thanks to Nurse Tim!
Have I mentioned our summer weather around here has been strange? Cool & wet, both of which are unusual in July. I have been taking advantage of the weather, though, and have been cooking & baking more than normal. On Monday Allison 'helped' me make muffins. She had a great time!
And I've decided cooking with a toddler is quite a bit messier than cooking without.
I have been making lots of freezer jam. Mostly with strawberries from our yard. My most recent batch was a strawberry-raspberry blend. It was really, really yummy. I finally had to move all of the jam out to the garage freezer, it was taking up too much space inside!
Oh yes, and I made cookies. To make Mark happy. And as a side bonus, they made Allison very happy as well!
Allison still loves to have Mark play his guitar. And admittedly, guitar practice is getting more fun now that Allison 'knows' a few songs. And she loves to bring Baby out for guitar practice and pat her knee to the music!
We took our second bike ride of this summer out to Gathering Together Farms last Saturday. Once again, Jodi & I planned this trip on a Saturday so our husbands could tow the kids! We had a strange weekend for this part of the country - it rained and rained and rained. The area around our house was soaking on Saturday morning so Mark & I almost wimped out. Jodi called Mark, though, to give him a hard time, and that got us in gear. We're glad we rode, it was a bit humid but I don't think we were ever rained on....the downpour came later in the afternoon! Once again the food was yummy. And this time around the Booth family joined us. Of course, they out did us all by taking turns running there and back (even though they live closer it is still quite a run - especially on a full stomach!). Hopefully we can get one more ride in before the end of the summer. This time around the flower garden was a bit more colorful....so of course we took more pictures.....
Two super sweet girls!
Bekah and her dandelion. At least she didn't pick the real flowers like someone else's daughter did!
Logan. What can you say? Bekah wanted a picture with him and he was going to have none of it. So he made a nice grumpy face....combined with his football t-shirt...it is the perfect contrast to all the pretty flowers in the background!
And don't let her innocent look fool you - she had just been reprimanded for picking one of the real flowers!
Last Friday I met my Portland friend, Erica, at the zoo. We brought the girls along for a little adventure. Erica has a Zoo membership so I went as her guest and the girls are both young enough to be free which was a big bonus! It was a perfect day, not too cold and not too wet. It took Allison a little bit to warm up to the animals but by the time she made it to the pygmy goats she was ready to pet an animal. Claire is a bit more adventuresome than Allison, even though she is smaller (and 5 months younger).
I think the girls' favorite part was all the snack eating. Allison ate snacks pretty much the entire time. And their favorite snack? Donuts that Miss Erica brought with her, of course!
My friends, Natalie & Melissa, helped me make these two quilts. They were shipped off to Florida where they will be waiting to welcome a pair of twins home next month when they are picked up in Bulgaria. Our dear friends have had a loooooong wait for a family and we are so excited that they will soon be a family of four through adoption. We hope to meet little Jonathon and Madison someday, too, but we'll wait as patiently as we can while they adjust to their new home & family. We're hoping these quilts bring them a bit of comfort as they transition. And we hope they get to take them to the beach! They are just so bright and cheery, don't they look like they belong at the beach? I used a tutorial from the Cluck, Cluck, Sew blog to make these (it was super easy) and my Mom and I had so much fun picking out the fabric for these. They are the same except one fabric and the backs. Madison's has a sock monkey theme and Jonathon's has an elephant theme.
After some lunch and a little shopping we headed to a nice beach just north of Lincoln City. It was an amazing day at the beach! Not too hot, not too warm and not too windy. We had a great time playing in the sand, building sand castles, walking around and relaxing. None of us really ventured into the water. We learned Allison is a bit fearful of the waves, even when it is just Mark venturing into the waves. I guess we'll just have to take more trips to the beach to help her get over her fear. Hopefully we'll find more days like this!
Mark and I knew we wanted to go to the coast for a day trip this summer. With our weekends filling up we decided we just needed to go, especially since the forecast for this weekend was fabulous. We skipped church on Sunday and headed out early. Our first stop was breakfast (of course!) but then we made our way over to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was expensive but fun. Allison really seemed to get into it. Especially if a fish looked remotely like Nemo!
A confrontation with a starfish. I think the starfish won, she never touched it!
Sill girl!
Checking out tanks, looking for Nemo.
The Aviary, her favorite part. She thought all the birds were ducks and was ecstatic to see a baby bird.
Last Saturday was the second (and final!) of two garage sales I was helping to put on. We had the garage sales to help raise funds for two adopting families in our church. I'm happy to say we raised something close to $1500. But it was not without effort! We had countless friends donate things to sell and many friends volunteer time. Mark & Dan spent lots of time running around picking things up in a borrowed truck (thanks Jon & Janelle!) and all of us involved ate way too many quick and easy (read Subway, Little Caesar's, etc.) meals. I do want to say it was worth it. And not just because we got Dan to try on some $2 hip waders! (This was definitely an Oregon garage sale, those hip waders never sold, they would have been the first thing gone in Alaska!) Many people came and shared adoption stories of their own (we met several adopted kiddos!) and some of us were able to provide information about adoption and maternity counseling services to people with questions. Not to mention some needed money was raised for two families. All that said, I'm happy that they are over. Now to just deal with the last of the stuff....... anyone want 'The Music Machine' on a vinyl record?
I would like to say Janelle, Jodi and I took our kiddos on a 'hike' this Friday past but that would be an overstatement. We did get out in nature and walk around, though. We packed everyone up in a vehicle (Pilots are the greatest with seats for eight!) and headed into the mountains to Alsea Falls. First we explored around the falls and the kids had a great time throwing rocks. Then we went for a little walk in the woods which went well until Allison tripped over a roots several times and decided her best option was to be carried. Eventually we made it back to the parking lot and enjoyed a picnic lunch at a picnic table. I wish summer was longer so we could have more adventures like this!
Rock throwing!
Love this silly girl!
And this serious boy, too!
With legs that were the epitome of 'lil' boy' with band-aids, socks & shoes (because he hates sandals!)
And who made funny faces when he knew I was taking his picture
And loved to eat cupcakes
With his family! I do love this little boy. Especially because I took two pictures here with the whole family....I captured one as he was saying cheese and one right after his fleeting (seriously it was a fraction of a second long) smile! Gotta get better at timing the trigger finger before thi little boy is no longer little.
Mark has been working. A lot. Which is a good thing. It also means Allison & I have been spending time together just the two of us. A lot of time. I'm thinking July will be 'Camp Mommy' month - I have all sorts of fun ideas to try - although after just one weekend of 'Camp Mommy' I realize most of my ideas wear me out more than Allison! On Sunday afternoon we spent time having our own photo shoot. I used the self timer on the camera. Allison thought it was hilarious to have me run and jump in a photo with her. And to have me tell her to 'Sit STILL!' so I could focus the camera. We ended up with lots and lots of laughs. And jumping and pillow fighting and just plain fun. Thankfully this time, we were both worn out when we were done!
The other day I attempted to take a picture of Allison playing with Baby. She heard the camera on the first shot and immediately picked Baby up, pointed her to the camera and said 'Cheese!' with great enthusiasm. I think she might be getting better at having her picture taken.
She then got back to business changing Baby's clothes....
Which is very hard work.....
So hard that Baby was left 1/2 dressed on the floor. Poor Baby, good thing she is used to it!
