month in pictures

Here are some of the everyday escapades that we proudly call life.

Black eye. She fell off the chair while wearing a diaper on her head and cracked her right eye on the bar stool. Every time I tried to put the pack of frozen corn on her eye she would push it away and say, "Oh, thank you mom, thank you." Polite little thing even during a crisis. After her nap her eye was swollen shut.

Sopping wet & wearing a dishtowel. There is no hiding it in this shot... Our little girl is balding. She soothes herself to sleep by pulling her hair out. I find balls of it rolled up and thrown outside of her crib every morning and afternoon. Those Beautiful Curls!!! We've tried a "magic hat" that she can wear to sleep to help save the hair and struck out. Any other suggestions!??

She helped Tuck put his "hat" on while I was doing the laundry. She's a great babysitter I'm thinking about hiring her out on weekends. Any takers?

Artwork for our Missionaries in Germany. This is for you grandma & grandpa just in case I don't make it to the mailbox for a while. A package is in the works.

Bed time da... da... da... What a staller. You can never count on the mood she'll be in when it's time to go down. Some days she's sleepy, others she's feisty, last night she was silly, and last week she was hiding in a sea of stuffed animals. But you can count on one thing for sure, she will stall. "I need to pee", "I need milk", "One story, last time", "Twinkle stars", "rock' a' birdy", "waaaiiiiiittttt." Only once in a blue moon do we hear,"I tired...".

Invited her buds "Jacabug" (Jacob) and "Isabo" (Isabelle) over for dinner and Otter Pops.Playing @ "my park". This wonderful secret park is our favorite place to go at night. No one is ever there and we can let Wrig off the leash without worry. Fin knows exactly what turns we need to make in order to get to the park. So at least I'll know where to find her if she ever gets lost.

Water fight at Keely's during the August heat wave.

On rare occasion there is love... I think she was doing this for one of those "nummy, nice-cream cones"

The Tank

The reason I call my baby Tuck the Tank isn't so much for his size (although his head is rather large) but more for his muscle. If there is not a path he creates his own by toppling any blockade I try to make. Toilet paper rolls, laundry baskets, bar stools, hot lava and thumbtacks. Nothing proves to be too much of an obstacle. He is also lightning fast, or as Chad would say, "Micheal Phelps fast". He grabs things in a flash and from great distance. One minute the mashed peas are in the bowl. I blink and the next minute they are on the floor or all over my lap! My kid is just strong and fast. I'm not bragging but more stating the facts. I truthfully wish that he was more of a cuddler then a brute, sigh... but I love him all the same.

White Trash (WT) Tuesday

I hate that phrase but heard it a number of times last night. Chad got home from work at 6 and I was caught up in a painting I was doing.

(still a work in progress don't look too close)

Tuck was playing in the dogs water dish and Finley was still in her crib from her nap (she took a late nap so don't judge). Dinner was non existent and the dog was begging to be taken on a walk. Chad took charge while I cleaned up the paints. We loaded the fam in the 'Cruiser and headed to Little Caesars. I love to eat Caesars in the car while it's hot. So sue me.


I usually bring a couple of plastic cups from home and we have our meal in the Costco parking lot which is just a couple of blocks away. But not last night we couldn't wait... well really, I couldn't wait, Chad hates eating in the parking lot. We ended up eating it in our car outside of the pizza place in front of some dumpsters. I don't care. We were full and happy. After burning our mouths on the boiling mozzarella we needed some cool refreshment so we walked across the parking lot to the Baskin Robins where we enjoyed some $1.00 a scoop ice cream (only on Tues.)

Fin had cotton candy

Tuck desperately tried to eat mint chip

And that is why I kept hearing over and over again from my man, "This is just so white trash". Well...works for me.

more please

yesterday at dinner finley said while passing me her cup, " more fire juice mommy".
it's our very favorite drink!

Can't wait to try this

I just learned that no word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple. One day I'm going to use this to my advantage.

Scenario:

Finley will ask, "Mom can I eat candy for dinner, or sleep over at Lucy's on a school night, or can I get my tongue pierced, or a tatoo of a circus clown... " or some other request warranting and automatic no from me, and a reactionary melt down from her.

Well instead of saying, "NO are you crazy!?!" I'll just ask her to rhyme a real word with the words month, orange, silver, and purple. Then she can do as she pleases.

It's fool proof!

heartbreaking

Most people have a blog or two that they love to look at. A blog from which you can draw inspiration, a place to retrieve ideas to build a more creative life of your own. Well this is mine. Today I learned that over the weekend both she and her husband were in a serious plane crash and are in critical condition. My heart breaks for their family and their 4 little children. My prayers are with them.

the things you say

Here are a few of the conversations that Fin & I have been having;

Mom I want a baby sister baby.
You want me to have another baby?
Yes sir, a baby sister baby.

As she is looking under the couch she asks, "Where is it mom, it's not here?"
Where's what?
Where's the Dad mom?

Oh mom I have the pick ups... (hiccups)

Yesterday I asked her what her favorite Disney princesses are.
She said, "No White, Sleeping Beautiful, Cindrenna, Tinkerbo, and Areo."

The other day I told her that if she was nice to Tuck she could have an ice cream cone. As she was eating her ice cream she said, "ummmmm, nummy 'nice' cream cone."

Papa Joe & Grandma Ginny

On Monday Papa Joe and Grandma Ginny left for the MTC to serve as missionaries in the Frankfurt Germany Mission.

We were so glad to have them come visit us for the week before they left.

We enjoyed the Best of Oregon with them. From the berries to the fountains at Jameson Park. We also loved spending the day at the zoo and the farmers market.

We will miss you both so much while you are away. Prepare yourselves for some pretty great carepackages though. We love you!

8 months

Look who's crawling


This week he made his move and my world just got a whole lot busier.


Some other milestones I want to write down (so that I remember) are:

First food May 12th -- 5 months
Sitting up May 26th -- 5 1/2 months
First tooth -- 7 months
Sleeping through the night (consistently) 2nd week of July -- 7 1/2 months
Crawling -- 8 months

Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, dress up day. I remembered that I had picked up 2 wool caps one year when I was traveling in Peru. I purchased them years ago, before I had kids, even before I was married.

I dug through box after box after box until I found them, and boy did they stink! They smelled exactly how musty, old, 3rd world, wool caps that have been buried in boxes for nearly a decade should smell.

I knew Fin would love them! Not because of the smell, but because they were hats, her favorite accessory. I grabbed a black sheet and sat my kidos in the doorway and snapped away.

I felt a little guilty sticking them in winter hats when it was 90 degrees out so that 's why they're in diapers. Their heads stunk so bad that after about 10 minutes the fun was over & I had to throw them both into the bath.

I love those woolen caps and the kids underneath them.

Dandelions

We went to the park with some friends today.
Fin went with the boys to pick some dandelions.
She brought me back one and I told her,

"Thanks doll for the beautiful flower."
She said,
"No mom, no flower... it's dandetiger."

Hill Stew & the Crew

I LOVE this family.
We had so much fun seeing you all. We can't wait till you move up here... No, we literally can't wait.
So make it sooner than later you hear!
P.S. I love rockin' out to Matt Costa. Thanks for introducing us.

Comparing

I've been wanting to do this for a while but just hadn't had enough pictures yet. Below are some side by sides of Tuck & Fin. I rarely compare my kids but it's fun every now and again to see the similarities in photos. I took these shots of them when they were both 6 months old. The top row is "The Tank" if you can't tell.

click images to enlarge mosaic

I think it's about time to go put some clothes on!

Dont spoil the Christmas surprise

It might have been years of working retail during the holiday season that ruined it for me. I HATE trying to beat the crowds in search of the perfect gift during the month of December. SO, I got Fin's gift picked out last night! I think it's perfect (it also comes in a bermuda blue and natural finish). She would be on cloud 9 if it were a skate board. She's obsessed with those things. That's what all the neighbor boys ride around. "Mom, look cool skateboard mom...!" She'll most likely call this a skateboard anyway.

Great-grandparents

The second week in July I was asked to speak in Church on Sunday. The topic assigned was; Our Pioneer Heritage, Faith in adversity. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn a little bit about my own pioneer heritage. Who better to call than my Grandma. She has a collection of stories, photos and family history to fill a library.

So on Monday I called and asked for some help. Her response was most unexpected. "I have a whole talk already written on Our Pioneer Heritage. I'll email it to you... and would you like us to come and see you give it?" Are you serious! I've been asking them to come visit us for years. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Two days later they packed there bags and drove the 17 hour trek to our home.

We had so much fun with them. We took them to pick raspberries and then learned how to make jam. We ate the most delicious fish and chips and walked threw Portland's Rose Gardens. We traveled out to the coast and picnicked at Cannon Beach. We barbecued and talked late into the nights about life when they were young.

Baggenstos Farm picking raspberries.
Thank goodness Finley has the attention span of a knat
she picked every berry she saw red or not.

They have been some of my favorite visitors. I will treasure the memory of a 17 hour drive, their sacrifice and the way they made me feel like the most important person around.

4th of July & the St. Paul Rodeo

Us @ a beach called "Hug Point"

Wishing this weren't true, I will admit that perhaps there has been a time or 2 that I have tried to manufacture a picture-perfect holiday. The 4th of July this year was one of those attempts.

I heard about this darling little parade in the quaint coastal town of Cannon Beach. After the parade we could spend the Sun Filled Day exploring the tide pools and watching Fin run wild. We'd grab some smoked BBQ later that night and watch the fireworks out over the Ocean. Sounds perfect, right! Well, we got a really late start that morning. Even though I had packed the car up the night before, we couldn't seem to drag ourselves out of the house until 10:30am.

The parade started at 11 o'clock and was an hour 1/2 away. We had no hope of making it in time but I was determined to celebrate at the coast. We hadn't been driving more than 5 minutes on the freeway when Fin starts throwing up repeatedly (who knew she gets carsick!?!). I'm screaming at Chad to pull over and for a brief moment thought this is it, the trip's canceled.

she wanted to help clean the "mess"

Needless to say we headed home, threw the car seat in the wash, made sure the little one was OK and then headed out to the coast for a second time. It was freezing and rainy once we finally got there. Everyone was bundled in coats, but we still loved it! We loved playing in the sand hiking up to the look out point (in hurricane winds), diffusing toddler meltdowns, chowing down on cheap pizza and stocking up on saltwater taffy.

Apparently there was no such thing as fireworks over the coast in Cannon Beach (we were given bad information). So we headed home to light off some fireworks of our own. It was a great holiday... imperfectly perfect.

Finley is still petrified of fireworks

Here are some photos of the St Paul Rodeo. This was the first Rodeo I had ever been to and the first Chad has been to in 7 years. When he met me 7 years ago I was a little more liberal and couldn't stomach such a sport (think PETA). We had so much fun for the first hour. The kids loved it, Tucker was captivated and Chad was in heaven.

By the second hour we had fed Finley an entire licorice rope, a 1/4 of a liter of Coke, some Swedish fish, peanut shells, gum off the bleacher in front of us and jelly bellies from the bottom of the diaper bag. We were shoveling her full of pretty much anything we could find to keep her from disrupting the rest of the people we were sardined next to.

Someone should have warned us that we were just fueling the beast. We left shortly after she threw Chad's hat into the lap of the guy behind us while simultaneously slapping his glasses off into the lap of the lady in front of us. The real rodeo that night took place on bleacher C seats 1, 2, & 3.

Fins' kind of Rodeo