Luckily it was magic marker and not permanent marker this time.
Asher just looked so handsome this day that I had to take his picture.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Pictures
Just when I thought they were playing quietly in their room, I come in to check and discover this...
Luckily it was magic marker and not permanent marker this time.
Asher just looked so handsome this day that I had to take his picture.
Luckily it was magic marker and not permanent marker this time.
Asher just looked so handsome this day that I had to take his picture.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Busy summer
First of all, I want to say Happy Birthday to my mother in law, Judy! I really lucked out to have such a wonderful mother in law. Some of Paul's best characteristics came directly from his mom. My favorites being their enthusiasm for life, boundless energy, and good work ethic. So, thanks Judy for being such a wonderful mom and grandma!
Speaking of work ethic, Paul has been nesting this weekend! He vacuumed out our van that was still sandy from our trip to the beach, he mowed the lawn, painted the baby's room, set up bunk beds for the kids, and brought all of the baby clothes down from the attic.
This is the baby's crib. Paul even set up all of the bedding as a surprise. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the walls are now light green.
These are Asher and Madeleine's new bunk beds! They are making pirate faces on the top picture, if you couldn't tell. My favorite feature is the removable ladder. We take it away during the day so the kids don't climb up and play on the top bunk. We've also been removing the ladder after we tuck the kids in bed so there is no unauthorized climbing of the ladder. We are able to put them to bed at the same time now because they can't bother each other as much. We replace the ladder as soon as they are asleep so that Asher can get down if he needs to. Asher complained this morning because Maddie climbed the ladder to come and snuggle him before he was ready to wake up, but that was a problem before anyway.
The rule is no playing on the top bunk, but the bottom bunk is fair game so the kids have deemed it their fort.
For the last week of July my family came from Arizona and California to visit! I had so much fun, I just wish they all lived here.
Asher and Madeleine had so much fun with their twin cousins Ben and Sam. Ben and Sam are right in between their ages so they played really well together. Sam was especially enthralled with Maddie. Before they left both Ben and Sam were calling her "Girly". As in, "Girly, come play with us!"
I stole this picture from Zach and Katie's blog because it was the best one of the four kids together. They were setting off on an adventure to hunt for polly-wogs at my Grandparents' farm.
We've had such a fun summer and I'm a bit sad about the summer winding down. Not too sad though as the end of summer means I get to have my baby!
Speaking of work ethic, Paul has been nesting this weekend! He vacuumed out our van that was still sandy from our trip to the beach, he mowed the lawn, painted the baby's room, set up bunk beds for the kids, and brought all of the baby clothes down from the attic.
This is the baby's crib. Paul even set up all of the bedding as a surprise. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the walls are now light green.
These are Asher and Madeleine's new bunk beds! They are making pirate faces on the top picture, if you couldn't tell. My favorite feature is the removable ladder. We take it away during the day so the kids don't climb up and play on the top bunk. We've also been removing the ladder after we tuck the kids in bed so there is no unauthorized climbing of the ladder. We are able to put them to bed at the same time now because they can't bother each other as much. We replace the ladder as soon as they are asleep so that Asher can get down if he needs to. Asher complained this morning because Maddie climbed the ladder to come and snuggle him before he was ready to wake up, but that was a problem before anyway.
The rule is no playing on the top bunk, but the bottom bunk is fair game so the kids have deemed it their fort.For the last week of July my family came from Arizona and California to visit! I had so much fun, I just wish they all lived here.
Asher and Madeleine had so much fun with their twin cousins Ben and Sam. Ben and Sam are right in between their ages so they played really well together. Sam was especially enthralled with Maddie. Before they left both Ben and Sam were calling her "Girly". As in, "Girly, come play with us!"
I stole this picture from Zach and Katie's blog because it was the best one of the four kids together. They were setting off on an adventure to hunt for polly-wogs at my Grandparents' farm.
We've had such a fun summer and I'm a bit sad about the summer winding down. Not too sad though as the end of summer means I get to have my baby!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Smiths' Reunion Tour 2009
For those of you too young (or simply not inclined towards 1980's angst-rock) The Smiths was an '80's British alternative band that eventually broke up when their lead singer, Morrissey kicked off his solo career. That is where my family gets the theme for our family reunion T-Shirts. Two of my sisters (who are huge Morrissey fans) picked the font to best fit the bands logo and then on the back we all come up with venue names for our houses. For example, since the nuclear bomb played a significant role in the Tri-Cities, we chose our venue name to be "The Fallout Shelter, Pasco". Since my brother's wife had a baby due days before the reunion, they were "The Maternity Ward, Sandy"(sadly, they were not able to come, but, happily, they had a healthy baby boy and everyone is doing well).
So last week my family gathered to Oceanside on the Oregon coast near Tillamook. We rented a great big house so every family could have their own room with bathroom. It didn't have much of a yard, but it had two levels of decks in the back that overlooked the beach. To start things out, we have a picture of the sunset taken from the deck.
The Oceanside beach has a giant rock outcropping that has a tunnel through it to get to some tide pools. Asher thought the tunnel was super cool.
There were also some caves that Asher loved. Madeleine looks like quite the explorer in this picture. The kids really liked the tide pools, especially the star fish, but we didn't get any good pictures of those.
From the beach you could look across the water at the rocks in the sunset picture and see the sea lions laying on the lower rocks. Asher loved the binoculars, but he didn't use them exclusively for distant objects. 
We also paid a visit to the Cape Mears Lighthouse. It hasn't been is use in decades, but Asher still thought it was about the coolest thing, especially since we got to climb all the way up to the top. Good thing it wasn't a tall lighthouse.
We also went to the Tillamook Air Museum. It is in a World War II era blimp hanger, which is the largest clear span wood structure in the world. They had some cockpits from old planes that the kids just loved. I didn't mind it too much either as exhibited from pursed lips, in the middle of making the appropriate sound effects for throttling up the engines.
The kids liked sharing the controls, but Asher also got a kick out of "flying solo" in the jet fighter cockpit.
Most of the planes were from the World War II era, which was actually really cool, but we really got a kick out of checking out an F-14 Tomcat.
Eventually we all donned our new "Smiths" t-shirts for pictures. For simplicity, most of the family pictures were taken on my sister's camera, but we got a couple good pictures on our own camera too. Our kids weren't very cooperative for group pictures, as you can see in this one of the grandkids in attendence. Smiles from everyone except Madeleine who is trying her best to break free from Asher. Still cute in my opinion.
Then this picture is of the girls in attendence, including my Gram who turns 90 this year.
Then there were the boys in attendence, except for my dad for an unknown reason.
Later that day we took a "hike" to Munson Creek Falls. Madeleine and Asher really liked the idea of walking sticks and they were real troopers. You can see here Madeleine was so eager to see the falls that she would not slow down for pictures. The short walk (1/4 mile) was worth the view at the end.
We played on the beach a fair amount, but me and the kids were too busy for pictures, but Vanessa managed to snap this really cute one of wind-whipped Madeleine.
And finally, no trip near Tillamook is complete without visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I was surprised how into it the kids were. They loved the giant mixing machine and Asher dubbed the conveyor belt the "Cheese Roller Coaster." And then of course there was the obligatory cheese and cheese curd taste testing, all topped off with ice cream cones.
It was tons of fun to spend the time with my family. We really missed my brother Scott and his family, but seeing as their son was born the day before the reunion kicked off, I guess it was excusable.
So last week my family gathered to Oceanside on the Oregon coast near Tillamook. We rented a great big house so every family could have their own room with bathroom. It didn't have much of a yard, but it had two levels of decks in the back that overlooked the beach. To start things out, we have a picture of the sunset taken from the deck.
The Oceanside beach has a giant rock outcropping that has a tunnel through it to get to some tide pools. Asher thought the tunnel was super cool.
There were also some caves that Asher loved. Madeleine looks like quite the explorer in this picture. The kids really liked the tide pools, especially the star fish, but we didn't get any good pictures of those.
From the beach you could look across the water at the rocks in the sunset picture and see the sea lions laying on the lower rocks. Asher loved the binoculars, but he didn't use them exclusively for distant objects. 
We also paid a visit to the Cape Mears Lighthouse. It hasn't been is use in decades, but Asher still thought it was about the coolest thing, especially since we got to climb all the way up to the top. Good thing it wasn't a tall lighthouse.
We also went to the Tillamook Air Museum. It is in a World War II era blimp hanger, which is the largest clear span wood structure in the world. They had some cockpits from old planes that the kids just loved. I didn't mind it too much either as exhibited from pursed lips, in the middle of making the appropriate sound effects for throttling up the engines.
The kids liked sharing the controls, but Asher also got a kick out of "flying solo" in the jet fighter cockpit.
Most of the planes were from the World War II era, which was actually really cool, but we really got a kick out of checking out an F-14 Tomcat.
Eventually we all donned our new "Smiths" t-shirts for pictures. For simplicity, most of the family pictures were taken on my sister's camera, but we got a couple good pictures on our own camera too. Our kids weren't very cooperative for group pictures, as you can see in this one of the grandkids in attendence. Smiles from everyone except Madeleine who is trying her best to break free from Asher. Still cute in my opinion.
Then this picture is of the girls in attendence, including my Gram who turns 90 this year.
Then there were the boys in attendence, except for my dad for an unknown reason.
Later that day we took a "hike" to Munson Creek Falls. Madeleine and Asher really liked the idea of walking sticks and they were real troopers. You can see here Madeleine was so eager to see the falls that she would not slow down for pictures. The short walk (1/4 mile) was worth the view at the end.
We played on the beach a fair amount, but me and the kids were too busy for pictures, but Vanessa managed to snap this really cute one of wind-whipped Madeleine.
And finally, no trip near Tillamook is complete without visiting the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I was surprised how into it the kids were. They loved the giant mixing machine and Asher dubbed the conveyor belt the "Cheese Roller Coaster." And then of course there was the obligatory cheese and cheese curd taste testing, all topped off with ice cream cones.
It was tons of fun to spend the time with my family. We really missed my brother Scott and his family, but seeing as their son was born the day before the reunion kicked off, I guess it was excusable.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Friends
I finally scanned this picture in from a photo session in May. Aren't they so sweet? We didn't even tell Maddie to rest her head on Asher's hands, she just wanted to be close. I love that they are such good friends.
Maddie was sick on Tuesday and Asher was beside himself with boredom. He kept begging her to play outside with him and she just wanted to lay on the couch. I remember worrying that having a baby so soon after Asher was taking something away from him. Far from it! I am so happy that we gave him his best friend. In fact, Paul and I were arguing a few weeks ago and Asher ran up to us and yelled "Mama! Daddy! Be best friends like me and Madeleine!" So I poked Paul in the eye and ran off with his toy.
Some random notes: Being hugely pregnant adds at least 20 degrees to the summer heat. I ran into a friend yesterday who seemingly just had a baby. I asked how old she was now and I was astonished that she is 9 weeks old! It seems like the baby was just born and she is older than the time I have left! This pregnancy is flying by.
I also joined face book yesterday! Paul finally set it up for me because he wants me to play face book Mafia with him. I was dragged into it kicking and screaming, but I am now finding it hugely addicting. Um, so, be my friend :)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Blue Bridge
Today Vanessa found a video on the Tri-City Herald of some workers replacing the flag on top of the Pioneer Memorial Bridge, aka the "Blue Bridge". The video wasn't too exciting (or high quality) but the Blue Bridge is one of Asher's favorite local monuments (that and Badger Mountain..."Dad!!! I see Badger Mountain with the radio towers and the TV towers!!! Dad!? You missed it!") and he loves American flags, so he thought it was awesome.
So this evening after work and dinner we went to walk across the bridge. The kids loved it. Madeleine kept saying "I see the river! It's beautiful." Asher soaked it up with his typical stern intensity. For Asher real fun is a very serious thing. You can see it in this picture of him dragging Vanessa, refusing to stop for pictures. 
Vanessa and I enjoyed the walk, but were less comfortable. I wouldn't have thought twice about being on the bridge by myself, but its different with your wife and kids. Having Madeleine straining to free herself from her stroller seat didn't calm my nerves as I carefully eyed all the gaps in the railing to make sure she couldn't fit through them. Still we made it out to the middle of the half mile bridge to see the new American flag in all its glory.
From the Blue Bridge we could see the "Cable Bridge". I was already planning that to be our next Tri-Cities "adventure" and on our way home across the Blue Bridge, Asher said"Dad, I want to walk on that bridge too."
Now, two unrelated topics. First off, I was going to link to our post about climbing Badger Mountain last fall, but in searching through the archives I realized we never finished that post. So I have finished it up and posted it, and if you are interested it is linked here, as well as above.
Also, I wanted to give some more thanks to Jeromy Riggs for his plant recommendations for our landscaping. When we came back from the Blue Bridge hike we found our Rose of Sharon's first blooms. Not only is it beautiful, but it is growing to perfectly fill its space in the yard and it blooms right after all our other flowers have disappeared. Thank you Riggs. We miss you guys (and your Oreo cake).
So this evening after work and dinner we went to walk across the bridge. The kids loved it. Madeleine kept saying "I see the river! It's beautiful." Asher soaked it up with his typical stern intensity. For Asher real fun is a very serious thing. You can see it in this picture of him dragging Vanessa, refusing to stop for pictures. 
Vanessa and I enjoyed the walk, but were less comfortable. I wouldn't have thought twice about being on the bridge by myself, but its different with your wife and kids. Having Madeleine straining to free herself from her stroller seat didn't calm my nerves as I carefully eyed all the gaps in the railing to make sure she couldn't fit through them. Still we made it out to the middle of the half mile bridge to see the new American flag in all its glory.
From the Blue Bridge we could see the "Cable Bridge". I was already planning that to be our next Tri-Cities "adventure" and on our way home across the Blue Bridge, Asher said"Dad, I want to walk on that bridge too."
Now, two unrelated topics. First off, I was going to link to our post about climbing Badger Mountain last fall, but in searching through the archives I realized we never finished that post. So I have finished it up and posted it, and if you are interested it is linked here, as well as above.Also, I wanted to give some more thanks to Jeromy Riggs for his plant recommendations for our landscaping. When we came back from the Blue Bridge hike we found our Rose of Sharon's first blooms. Not only is it beautiful, but it is growing to perfectly fill its space in the yard and it blooms right after all our other flowers have disappeared. Thank you Riggs. We miss you guys (and your Oreo cake).
Friday, June 26, 2009
Princess Madeleine
2 years old is such an interesting age. One minute she is iron-willed and incredibly defiant, the next she wants to cuddle and pretend that she's a baby.
New skills include:
-Shouting "No!" More times in a day than I ever thought possible
-Conjuring up tears so she can get sympathy from her Daddy
-Opening doors, which means nap time and bed time are optional in her mind
-Making Asher on the receiving end of physical torment (for once)
-Running away very fast if I let her walk in stores (hence the new stroller)
-Taking off all of her clothes and running around the house naked indoors and out.
-At various times of the day, she is a puppy, kitten, baby, or princess and she demands that we treat her that way.
Madeleine was seriously the most docile child on the face of the planet until right before her second birthday. Now, she is a force to be reckoned with. She has such a wild imagination and a penchant for the dramatic. The other day, she fell off of a chair, but landed on some soft bedding and I asked her if she was hurt and she wailed "Nooooo". Then I asked her if she was scared and she wailed "I'm scared of spiders!"
It's nice with your second child because I can recognize Maddie's terrible two's for the temporary stage that she's in. It makes it easier to find humor in her reign of terror, and I know that she'll be my sweet Madeleine again when she has finally convinced herself and us that she is her own individual with her own feelings and needs. Then, it will start all over again when she's 12 (shudder).
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Asher and Memorial Day
I haven't talked much about what Asher has been up to, so I thought I would post some updates. He is just a bundle of energy and it is good energy about 90% of the time. I absolutely love the age he's at right now because he is always coming up with such interesting and novel ideas. He is really into the computer and his favorite "game" is Google earth. He's always begging to play "the earth".
Tonight we were talking about the baby and he demanded "Mama, we have to name the baby either Lydia or Rudolph. Choose right now". Ummmm, let me think about that one...
(by the way, I really think we are going with Lydia and not just because the alternative is Rudolph)
I think I must be looking pretty pathetic because when I sit down he likes to bring me all of his blankies and his Dumbo to help me feel better. He has been really sweet with me lately.
He has also started to talk about what he wants to be when he grows up. He loves to ask if he is going to be as big as Daddy when he grows up. He also wants to be an astronaut so he can see the earth and he wants to be a farmer like his Grandpa-Great so he can drive tractors (just not the noisy kind).
Speaking of Grandpa-Great, we visited on Memorial Day and I wanted to share some pictures. Grandma and Grandpa-Great have all sorts of interesting things: they have cats, and a wheelchair, harmonica, and tractors. Asher is really sensitive to noise, but he fights with it because he also loves tractors. He really wanted to ride with Grandpa-Great this time. Madeleine also wanted to ride with Grandpa and Asher. Asher took his Big Brother responsibilities very seriously and held onto her tight, he was very concerned that she was going to go out the door while the tractor was moving.
Tonight we were talking about the baby and he demanded "Mama, we have to name the baby either Lydia or Rudolph. Choose right now". Ummmm, let me think about that one...
(by the way, I really think we are going with Lydia and not just because the alternative is Rudolph)
I think I must be looking pretty pathetic because when I sit down he likes to bring me all of his blankies and his Dumbo to help me feel better. He has been really sweet with me lately.
He has also started to talk about what he wants to be when he grows up. He loves to ask if he is going to be as big as Daddy when he grows up. He also wants to be an astronaut so he can see the earth and he wants to be a farmer like his Grandpa-Great so he can drive tractors (just not the noisy kind).
Speaking of Grandpa-Great, we visited on Memorial Day and I wanted to share some pictures. Grandma and Grandpa-Great have all sorts of interesting things: they have cats, and a wheelchair, harmonica, and tractors. Asher is really sensitive to noise, but he fights with it because he also loves tractors. He really wanted to ride with Grandpa-Great this time. Madeleine also wanted to ride with Grandpa and Asher. Asher took his Big Brother responsibilities very seriously and held onto her tight, he was very concerned that she was going to go out the door while the tractor was moving.
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