Independence Day Celebration

We had a super fun 4th of July celebration on Wednesday! Nicholas and Ella wore their most patriotic outfits to honor our nation's day of freedom.

It was an 80 degree day so Jeff filled up the wading pool and added some fun bath toys and Ella couldn't get enough of it.  

 Eventually her outfit was soaking wet so Jeff put her in her swimsuit so she could get in and splash to her hearts content. She only got out when we realized she was shivering cold. Jeff had to dump out the pool water because even after she was warm and dry, she wanted to play in that water!

 Later in the afternoon, our friends came over. Dylan wasted no time getting comfortable. 

 Dylan & Whitney brought their croquet set, so we all played. We played couples teams and Jeff and I, having never played before, got last place. It was still fun though!

 Nicholas loved watching us hit the croquet balls around the yard. He was especially happy to be out of the heat and in the shade. 

 Ella really wanted to play croquet too...in the pool. She kept throwing the mallets and balls in the wading pool, another reason why we had to dump out the water. 

 Nicholas really enjoyed hanging out with all of us. He usually gets super bored and asks to watch a movie when we entertain, but not on the 4th, it wasn't until around 8:00 p.m. that he decided he wanted to go inside. Once he was comfy cozy, he didn't even want to get up for fireworks. 

 Ella ran around and played all evening. She had her first hot dog ever-and loved it. She didn't take her normal nap that day, so she went right to sleep after a few fireworks. 

 My iPhone doesn't take the greatest firework photos, but we had a pretty show. It didn't last very long, as Jeff and I think buying fireworks is similar to burning money, so we only bought a few, but all were very lovely. We could also see our neighbor's fireworks so all in all it was a nice night. 

 Later Jeff built a fire in our new fire pit. It was the perfect end to a memorable night. 

Last Weekend

 Ella enjoyed looking at her new hand-me-downs from her friend, Bella. She tried to put on as many as possible then laid them all over the living room floor to admire their prettiness. 

 At bath time I brought out the bath crayons the kids got for Easter. Ella loved making scribbles on the tub walls and I was thoroughly impressed with how quickly the colors washed away when bath time was over. 

 Our very sweet neighbor, Tina, brought this lovely flower to me and said she noticed how I always take such good care of our kids and wanted to give me a little something to brighten my day. Isn't that the nicest thing?!

 On Sunday evening, Jeff's sister and hubby came over for an impromptu Sunday evening dinner. Jeff roasted beef on the Traeger and then we sliced it up for French Dip sammies complete with roasted red potatoes, salad with homemade vinagrette dressing, and freshly sliced watermelon. It was delicious! My brother-in-law, Kris, made us these yummy Bloody Marys while we waited for our dinner to finish cooking. 

 These are a few of the adorable faces of our handsome boy. I just love him so much! He has been obsessed with all things outer space these last few days so Jeff & I have been scouring Netflix looking for space cartoons. We haven't found too many on demand, so I ordered six DVDs on Amazon.com today: Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, Fly Me to the Moon, Wow, Wow, Wubbzy: Fly Us to the Moon, Micky Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure, & Disney's Little Einsteins: Race for Space. Hopefully these new DVDs will keep him happy for awhile!

Ouch!

Today our little monkey took a fall off the Bumbo chair she was standing on (to apparently reach the kitchen light switch) to the floor below. She was crying and bleeding a lot from her mouth and after taking a look, I thought she may have needed stitches for a cut in her mouth by her upper lip. I gave her a plastic ice-filled fishy cube to help keep the swelling down and then called Jeff who rushed home from work. Jeff took Ella to urgent care while I stayed home with Nicholas. A doctor took a look at her cut and said that stitches were not necessary, that the cut, while substantial, should heal on its own in a week or so. So now our baby has a huge fat lip and cannot eat anything salty for several days, but should heal quickly. Oh, the joys of parenthood!

First Day of Summer

Ella loved playing in our backyard on this beautiful 80 degree day. What a perfect day to start summer!

A Day Just for Dads

 Father's Day was all about Nicholas & Ella's fabulous daddy. What does Jeff like more than anything? Wakeboarding, that's what. So while the sky looks ominous in the photos, it was really a humid 70 degree day, so we went on Lacamas Lake with my brother, his wife, and their friends. The kids enjoyed boating and Jeff loved being able to wakeboard on his special day. 

Later that evening we BBQ'd at my parents house and the kids gave Jeff his gifts-Carhartt pants, a shirt, and a new lunchbox. 

Jeff is seriously the most amazing father. He loves our children exceedingly well and enjoys spending time with them. Nicholas and Ella love their time with their daddy, whether its watching him fix a car, playing tag with him, or cuddling watching cartoons, they are happy just to be in his presence. We are so blessed to have this awesome man in our lives. 

The Joys of Being Busy

 I made roasted brussel sprouts for dinner the other night. Even my picky non-veggie eating husband thought they were delicious. I think one can roast any veggie and it always turns out yummy.

 Nicholas and I spent one rainy afternoon cuddling together and watching movies. He got a bunch of new DVDs for his birthday, so we watched most of them. It was so relaxing and will always be a treasured moment of mine.

 Nicholas is currently obsessed with the movie, My Neighbor Totoro. Its a cute cartoon with Elle & Dakota Fanning as the voices of the two main characters. My best friend, Lyndsey, sent it to him months ago and because he loves it so much, she sent him a Totoro tee shirt for his birthday which he also loves and asks to wear almost every day.

 Most of the flowers in our garden are now in bloom and it has been nice to be able to make bouquets in bring them inside the house. Our home smells heavenly with all the flowers!

 We planted strawberries last year, but only got a half dozen or so. This year the plants have been producing many more and we should have quite a few if Ella doesn't eat them all first!

 Last week was super busy and fun for mama!! I met up with my friends, Leslie and Erin on Wednesday for dinner and drinks, and on Friday my sister-in-law, Jami, and I got pedicures and then went to Happy Hour. It was so nice to have some time to relax and enjoy the evening with friends.

 On Saturday, Ella, my mom, and I went downtown Portland to Pioneer Place and shopped. It was a belated birthday present for my mom who celebrated her birthday earlier this month. Neither of us bought a lot but we we each came home with one new item and half the fun is window shopping anyway. We ate lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery and it was delicious!

 Nicholas has been feeling a little crummy the last couple of weeks. It hasn't been anything major, but he desated (oxygen level dropped) a couple times into the 80s (92-100 is normal). He asks to be on his bi-pap machine more often because of it and we have been coughing and suctioning him more than normal too. We think it's either allergies or he picked up a minor cold from preschool. At any rate, prayers are always appreciated! At his four-year check-up yesterday, he weighed in at 29 lbs which is a huge improvement from his hospital stay last December. He may only be in the 5th percentile for weight, but we will take it! 

I mentioned in the last post how much Ella loves the water. I honestly think she is the perfect mini-me of her father. She is so much like Jeff in so many ways: her inability to sit still, the fact that she always likes to be on the go, her ability to make friends where ever she goes, her love of water, her love of taking things apart, and her helpfulness in taking care of Nicholas.

This is a video of Nicholas and how he can move his legs so much lately. He has more strength in the morning, but a lot more leg strength overall with the constant use of his bi-pap and his awesome amino acid diet. 

Ella is 21 Months

 I am so behind on posting, but our super crazy monkey is now 21 months old as of June 15th. She definitely keeps us on our our toes and makes us laugh every day. She is a daredevil and has absolutely no fear at this age. Last weekend we went to our neighbors house for a BBQ and on the boat for Father's Day and all she wanted to do was be in the water the whole time. She jumped off the side of the pool at our neighbor's house into her daddy's arms and almost jumped off the diving board there. Later in the evening when we had finished swimming and dressed her, we had to watch her closely to be sure she didn't jump in fully clothed. Boy, was that exhausting!

She likes to color in the pages of her coloring book and is always thrilled when we go out if the restaurant has a children's menu that she can color on. She is so much like Jeff in how she likes to take things apart and try to put them back together. She also loves to be out and about and waves to all the new people she sees as she sits in her stroller. It's almost as if she thinks she is in a beauty pageant or something, or maybe she is just overly friendly. She does scowl at the shifty-looking people, however. 

She has some new language, she says: shhhh, kiss, what's that?, up, oh, uh-oh, yes, no, mama, dada, hi, sorry, bye-bye. She still talks in baby babble most of the time but with inflection and tone which is quite funny. She totally knows what she's saying, we just don't always understand what she says. 

This week she has either her first cold or just a runny nose from her eye teeth that are coming through. We aren't sure which because it doesn't seem to slow her down at all. She does take longer naps though and that is such a blessing so I have time to play with Nicholas and get the rest of my household chores done. 

We have to regularly put her in time-outs now. She's has started becoming naughty-getting into things she knows are off limits-like the pantry, and time-outs seem to be the only thing that work. She sits down for 1-3 minutes and then has to say "sorry" when she gets up and give hugs and kisses to whomever she wronged. Some days I feel like she sits in time-out a lot, so I try to redirect her energy to playing with a toy, coloring a picture, running around in the backyard, and the like. I am sure it is frustrating to be at an age where she understands so much, but cannot express herself effectively. It makes me look forward to age two!

We love our cute little munchkin so much!! Happy 21 months baby girl!! 

Happy Birthday to the BEST Gramme & Mom

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful mom & grandmother in the world!!!

Today is my wonderful mother's birthday. She is such a blessing to have as a mom and she is a fantastic grandmother to our two children. She is the kind of mom who will drop what she is doing to help us with anything we need. She is giving, selfless, loving, honest, and kind. We adore you, Mom!

Nicholas and Ella  want to send you lots and lots of kisses and hugs on your special day so here you go...

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo