Adventure of "Scout" & "Gem"

Family Fun Day!

2012-01-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

While the kids were still on Christmas break we had everyone come our direction for day of family fun. We had a nice lunch at Bahama Breeze and then hit up the Family Fun Center in Tukwilla. We were not sure how it would go over with such a broad age range of kids, but it ended up being a great place to go. It had a little for everyone.

Clara played with Hailey & Zane played in the giant indoor climbing/slide/mat area.

Almost everyone, including Carol played a round of laser tag.

Janie slept most of the time at the fun center, but when she woke up she was fascinated by all the lights on the various token games. Like her big sister, this kid is in heaven when she is around her cousins!

Everyone, with the exception of maybe Clara, enjoyed the go-cart race. She thought it was a little too loud (and probably a bit chilly) for her liking.

Hailey, Zac & Zane did the bungee trampolines and Clara watched on in amazement as they did all sorts of cool flips in the air.

They kids had fun on the bumper cars...

And Ashley and Taylor tried out this weird space ship ride while the rest of us were able to watch them being tossed about from a video screen. The photo below is right after the ride was over. Their looks helped me determine the ride was not really for me. Kevin, Todd, Sherri & I even split from the kids for a few minutes and went on a virtual reality 4D ride.

After a great time at the Fun Center, a group of us went to the mall for a little shopping and then all met up back at our house for a quick dinner, dessert and gifts. The pass ended up getting a little messy that evening and Amy, Elmer and kids spent the night. We stayed up playing games and had a great time together. Hopefully we can do it all again soon!

A Little Morning Dress Up

2012-01-25T20:20:00.001-08:00

16 month old Gem!

2012-01-24T22:36:00.000-08:00

Mick-eeeeey Mooouse! Siiiiister! Want Cookieeee! Ahhh-cado, More Ahhh-cado!

Our Janie Bug seems to be yelling something all of the time these day! She is a kiddo that knows what she wants and is not afraid to ask for it, demand it, and use repetition and volume to get it! Then when she gets whatever she is asking for, the sweetest "thank you" quietly comes out of her. At least she has figured out how to balance some politeness with her many demands!

We are having SO much fun with Janie at her current developmental stage. We can't believe how quickly she is learning new things, especially new words. It really seems like she picks up several a day. What is even more fascinating about Janie's learning is that we have spent significantly less time "teaching" her things the way we would do with Clara. Instead, Janie is an observer and one who has a big sister she wants to copy all of the time.
For Christmas Janie got a cute little purse and accessories from Auntie Sherri. At first she wasn't all that interested in it, that was until Clara started playing with it. It was then that Janie started carrying it around constantly as well as stuffing it full of other small toys she knows Clara likes. In turn, Clara has been known to hang it just out of Janie's reach or hide it in the Lego bin. It is cute and funny now, but I really hate to see what this sisterly dynamic looks like in ten to twelve years!

This past month Lil' Gem Baby has been for the most part healthy, which means she is sleeping better (still not great, but we are happy about "better"), communicating more effectively and all around just a happier kid. She even has longer stretches of independent play or willingness to listen to a more complex book. When something is not going her way, our Janie can make a LOUD and stubborn fuss, complete with some pretty miserable-looking faces. And when she gets what she wants she can turn it around just as quickly.
Janie is really attached to her "Binkie" and will ask for it many times during the day. We only try to give it to her at certain times, this is one of those battles I don't always have the energy to fight. This is different than Clara who only had hers at night and in the car at 16 months and it seemed more like an out of sight, out of mind situation. Clara gave hers up when we explained that "Binkies were for babies" around 20 months, already I can tell that it may not go quite as smoothly with Janie. On the other hand, one of the big lessons of parenting for us has been that you can't always predict the behavior of young children, but I am sure there will be posts about that "adventure" in the future.
Janie has been teething again the past few days. She has a total of 6 teeth now. Three on top and three on bottom, that give her little grim kind of a "Z" shape. She is starting to get top teeth further back and they seem to really bug her and have lead to a few tough nights of sleep.

Janie's hair seems to be getting a little darker, and when she gets out of the bath is seems really curly. Once she sleeps on it, it flattens out (unless she sweats). She has a few clips that she is willing to wear, or maybe doesn't notice, but she really does not like to wear the little ponytails that look so darn cute on her and pulls and pulls on her hair till they come out. Over the past few weeks we are finally seeing a lot more of Kevin in her appearance. Several people have commented and you can really see it in some photos we recently took (I will try to post soon).

Janie continues to get better with walking and now likes to try to jump and spin in circles. She also does a cute little "dance" when we sing songs, by shifting her weight back and forth. She loves to climb, especially Mommy or Daddy. She also seems to always prefer the direct route even if it has obstacles, instead of going around. For instance, if she wants a certain toy across the room, she beelines to it even if she has to climb over Daddy and falls twice wading through the sea of toys. In this way she is really different from cautious Clara.

One of the best milestones this month is how much better she has gotten at showing affection and even saying "Luv you" to us. She really gets excited to see Kevin when he gets home from work and she seems to get a little sad when he leaves saying, "Dada, Bye-Bye" several times in the first hour he is gone. She greets us when we walk into a room with a sweet "hi" and grin. She has enough sweetness to far outweigh her orneriness.

I know this sounds weird, but somewhere in the past few weeks I feel like I have stopped being as sad about her growing up so fast and turned the corner into feeling excited for our future with her as a part of our family, in a long term sense. I thinks about the relationship the four of us will have when they reach their teen years or even adulthood. (I also really look forward to a night without getting up with her.) I guess all her changes have allowed me to better conceptualize her as our child instead of our baby, that I just wanted to keep a baby.

As the girls get older, I am reminded of what a treat is it to get to just know Janie and Clara both, with their unique little characters they are such incredible pieces of God's grand masterpiece! How lucky we are to be their parents!

Christmas Day in Quincy

2012-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Around noon on Christmas Day we piled in the car and headed over the snowy pass to Quincy. Clara has really gotten into a lot of holiday songs and books this year and seemed a little confused that it was Christmas and there wasn't any snow. Good ole' Western Washington for ya! As we approached the pass she started oohing and aahing at all the snow. There really wasn't a ton for that area but it was very impressive to her. She was disappointed that we wouldn't stop and play in it, in our Christmas clothes of course. Well, not long after being at Grandma Carol's we noticed that there was some Christmas snow starting to fall. Somebody was SO excited that she raced outside and immediately tried to catch a flake on her tongue. The snow didn't last long, but either did Clara's patience. Soon she was distracted by thoughts of Grandma's dinner and more presents and right back inside. In the days following she talked about how cool the Christmas snow was because she had hoped for some snow. What a good reminder it is about what things kids notice. In the hustle and bustle of gifts, food, travel and family the wonder of this tiny bit of snow still meant something special to her.

Christmas Day was a nice day for us all. We did our best to laugh often and share some nice memories of Murray. There were some tough moments, but we were comforted by being together. Our girls helped in keeping things lighthearted with their silliness and excitement of the day.

Daddy and his Baby Girls

Janie and her baby! She loves dollies, especially feeding them and them flinging them in their beds with a "Nite, Nite, Baby."

Uncle Elmer and Janie have a little bond. He spoils her with attention and she eats it up!

Clara opening up her gift!

I attempted taking more photos but I received a new lens for Christmas from Kevin and am still getting used to using it. I thought I was getting some good photos but they ended up really blurry.

Our Tradition: Christmas at Home

2012-01-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

Last year we made a tough but important decision for our family and told our extended families that we intended to spend Christmas mornings in our own home as long as our girls are little. That way we have the opportunity to create our own traditions and Santa Claus always knows where to find us. Luckily everyone on both sides of the family was understanding and was willing to work something out. Most years we alternate who we spend the holiday with. This year was our year to be with my family in Chehalis, but we also felt it was equally important to share the sacred day with Kevin's family this year. It made for a lot of driving over the holiday weekend but we savored our sweet moments as a family of four and really enjoyed all the extended family togetherness.

Christmas Eve snuggles for Mommy & Daddy!

Clara set out milk and cookies for Santa

We read a few Christmas stories and talked about the birth of Jesus. Both girls were worn out from our visit to Chehalis that they went right to sleep. And sure enough... Santa Came!!

Santa had a rough time choosing something for Janie but since she adores the kitchen in Clara's room so much, he had a hunch a play store would be a lot of fun for her as well. And he was right!

Clara was very clear with what she wanted from Santa. She knew the exact princess castle she wanted and noted that if he thought she had been good, she'd really like the dolls and furniture to go along with it. Twinkle, our Elf on the Shelf must have given her a good report because it was all there on Christmas morning.

Daddy on the other hand found a little COAL in his stocking. Luckily it was candy coal and in with a lot of other fun stuff so Santa just must share Daddy's silly sense of humor.

Both girls gave Mommy sweet gifts. Clara picked out the Wizard of Oz Pez set for me all by herself and Janie gave me a sweet bunny charm for my bracelet with a little help from Daddy.

The girls gave Daddy a funny Christmas tie that Clara selected all by herself. Giving Daddy a wacky tie seemed like a fun way to tribute Grandpa Murray's humorous spirit and we surprised him with a fancy tie tucked behind it. He loved the gift and Clara felt so proud about picking gifts out herself.

Christmas Eve Eve & Christmas Eve in Chehalis

2012-01-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, Eve we played a little pretend that it was actually Christmas Even and celebrated with our Stevens Family Traditional Christmas Eve Feast. The day really didn't matter because we were all together and in good spirits. We fed the kids early and timed the meal during a late nap of Janie's. The food (as usual) was amazing so we were able to enjoy our bites.

Grandma Jan, G.G. Wanda, Papa Bob & Grandpa Mark

Pretty typical of my two brothers...

Ryan & Hailey

Matt & Danielle

The Kiddos on Christmas Eve in their holiday outfits!

After some dessert, Papa Bob read Twas the Night Before Christmas which has become a tradition with his great-grand kids.

We capped the evening by letting each of the kids open a gift.

On Christmas Eve morning, we celebrated like Christmas morning (minus Santa's visit) at Grandma & Grandpa Stevens house. Grandma had yummy breakfast and the kiddos enjoyed singing carols with Grandma & Grandpa. Here they all are getting into singing Jingle Bells!

And then we let the kids go at it. They are at such a fun age for gift giving and it was a blast to watch them each tear into presents and get excited while cousins/siblings looked on.

Brendan has changed so much since last Christmas and seemed to have figured the whole present deal out!

Daddy & Daughter Snuggles for Matt & Tay

Janie being coached through opening her present by sweet cousin Taylor.

And Poor Hailey's initiation into the Stevens clan, a gift of a new set of neoprene waiters, boots, and a rod and reel. I hope she knows as much as the rest of her that those items are more precious than jewelry to Ryan, so he must really like her!

Of course it wouldn't be a holdiay without LOTS of outdoor gear. Kevin models te new self-inflating life vests dad bought everyone for the boat, especially Kev who isn't really a natural in the water.

Ryan is really excited about his new net!

And it wouldn't be a holiday without a few of these cheesy shots. Clara is completely willing to face the camera these days but we're still working on natural smiles and looking at the camera. Poor thing comes by it naturally because there are quite a few of these shots of Mommy through the years too!

Big hugs for Uncle Ryan who spoiled all the kids this year!

Year Three - Hope on the Hill Toy Drive

2012-01-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

For the third year in a row, I have coordinated a Toy Drive for my Seattle Children's Hospital Guild. This year there was an outpouring of support from guild members and our friends and family and we surpassed our goal. The toy drive has provided Clara with very valuable lessons about charitable giving so we decided to get other children involved with a Toy Drive playdate.

Gingerbread House Party

2012-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

This year Clara was invited to the neighbor's house for a PJ Gingerbread House making party! Candy, Christmas, Friends... it was like the perfect trifecta for our Scout!

At first she approached the task of decorating her house carefully and with concentration, but eventually she decided it was much more fun to just eat the decorative candy and after that we caught her sucking frosting right from the bag. After all, she is my kid...

The party was planned to perfection and had the cutest decorations!

After the kids had finished decorating, there was a knock at the door and guess who it was?

SANTA himself!

Santa read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kiddos and then called each one up for a little gift.

Then we decided to get a family photo with Santa!

And then one with Santa and all the Mamas!

Such a fun day! We are continuously thankful for the amazing neighbors we have and the friendships we have created with them all!

Date Night for Mommy & Daddy!

2012-01-17T15:12:00.001-08:00

Our neighbors, the Wojewodas hosted their annual holiday party and so we called Cousin Julie up to babysit and enjoyed an evening together (without children) with fun friends!

Getting Ready for the Holiday

2012-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

As the girls get older, every element of the holidays becomes even more fun than the year before. This year Clara really vividly remembered all the fun elements of the last holiday season and was so excited for each. We were visited by our Elf on the Shelf, Twinkle and we get our Advent Calendar back out. She was SO excited to open it every day that the questioning began ("Can I open my advent?") the moment she woke up when the goal was to wait until Daddy was home from work to open it. Some days it was filled with a candy treat but we always had some fun family holiday activity, from reading Christmas books, singing holiday tunes to having hot cocoa or making a fun craft. Next year it will be really fun to involve Janie more!

Our sweeties in their Christmas PJ's

We had a fun time decorating our Christmas tree together! Clara did a great job hanging ornaments and when she was done, the highest density or ornaments were right around her eye level. She felt so proud of her work and as parents it was incredible to share this tradition with our little lady. Of course, Janie knew that she didn't want to sleep through this activity that the rest of us were having fun doing. We ended up buckling and allowing her to stay up a little longer and join us from her high chair.

Daddy & Clara, hanging some of the special ornaments including the apple and pear in honor of Grandpa Murray! He will always be a part of our Christmas traditions.

Clara hangs them high and the tree and Janie is excited over her Minnie Mouse ornament Grandma & Grandpa brought her back from Disneyland. It didn't take her long to say "Min-eeee Mow" and point to it on the tree. Clara received an Ariel and talked to her on the tree every day. Grandma knew it was a good choice for our little gal...

The 2011 Michael Family Christmas tree, even more special than in years past because we all had a hand in decorating. We let the girls stay up past their bed times to be a part of in the process and made a special memory in the process.

Reindeer Festival 2011

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

The day after visiting Snowflake Lane, we attended the Cougar Mountain Zoo Reindeer Festival with the Blantons, Jackson & Christina. It was a cold morning, but we bundled up and enjoyed the animals and company of great friends!

Kiddos checking out Santa's Reindeer

At the Reindeer Festival, Janie and Clara had her first meeting of the season with Santa. With Janie so little last year, it was hard to know how our little Gem would react to meeting him. Right after we sat her down, she gave him this look and remembering all to well the years Clara feared him (the first time with this exact Santa), I was sure that that it was not going to end well.

She surprised me though and after a fairly thorough inspection of him, she seemed content and was willing to post for a photo

We even managed to get a family shot!

After our visit with Santa and his reindeer, the kiddos had the opportunity to write their letters to Santa and put them directly into his mail box. Clara & Lucy went to town with their beautiful art work and lil' Janie produced a creation

After a quick trip to see the rest of the animals, most of which were hanging out in their warm shelters, Clara found her favorite part of Cougar Mountain Zoo... the fountain! Even in the chilly weather, we had to remind her to stay out of it!

Snowflake Lane with Friends!

2012-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

What a enchanted holiday evening for some little sweeties had at Snowflake Lane this year. Attending snowflake lane has become part of our holiday tradition and this year we waited until right before we left to tell Clara where we were going, and that we would be meeting up with Lucy and her family when we got there. Oh my! Our little girl was over the moon!!

Janie also got to meet up with her pal Jackson and Daddy Peter. The toddlers were not quite as excited about the festivities, but rode together in the stroller and seemed to enjoy some of the holiday creatures and of course, THE SNOW!!!

Meeting (and getting photographed with) the Christmas royalty of Snowflake Lane had to be the highlight of the evening for Clara. Look at her face in the photo above!

A drummer girl who gave them a lollipop!

The music began with the drummers marching to their positions.

Frosty with Peter & Jackson

Janie loving the snowflakes. It really was pretty to see and helped get us all in the holiday spirit.

The Michael Family with the Snow Princess. Clara was SO proud of this photo and asked to take it a copy for sharing at preschool the following Tuesday.

The Sugar Plum Fairy!

The Daddies (Kevin, Peter & Hal) and kiddos

After the Snowflake Lane show, we headed back inside the mall and visited the Disney store. Clara and Lucy had an incredible time playing in the princess castle. Watching them have such a fun time together had us all wishing that they had the opportunity to play more often.

Lucy's mom, Karen got some better photos of the fun evening that are posted on their blog, but here is a sweet photo of the two of them enjoying the festivities! Hopefully we'll all get to go back to Snowflake lane together next year!

Christmas Dresses

2012-01-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on blogging... Yesterday was a big event for my Seattle Children's Hospital Guild and now that the busy work for that is over, and we are (kinda) snowed in, I am going to try and make a post of two. This one is one from early December, when I attempted to take Christmas card photos of the girls. The photographer we had do our family photos this year captured some sweet family moments, but didn't offer any digital files for Christmas cards. So I tried again a few weeks later and ended up with this shot where both girls are looking at the camera and Clara is even smiling! Hopefully next year I will plan a little better and get a family shot for our Christmas photo.

Jumping Ahead - Janie at 15 months!

2011-12-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

With all of the holiday activities our family has been busy with, I have let this blog slide a little. Up until tonight, the most recent post was Janie's 14 month photos - Ooops! The good side is that I have been taking photos so there are lots to choose from for future posts. Instead of continuing in chronological order, I am going to jump ahead a few post and write about Janie at 15 months, so I don't forget/distort anything about her development.

At her 15 month check up, Janie weights 24 pounds, 6 ounces (75-90th percentile) and is 32 inches long (90-95th percentile)

This month has been completely amazing with how much our little sweetie pie has changed! As predicted, she is walking most of the time, and getting fast! Some days I totally underestimate how long it takes for her to walk down the hall from her room behind me and before I know it, she is out in the front room climbing on something she shouldn't or half way up the stairs! She occasionally has a little fall, but always lands on her bottom and bounces back up with a smile. She loves to be where the rest of us are, so walking faster allows her to follow us around the house. We are liking not having to carry her everywhere!

Janie usually likes to hold on to a toy or some random household item she is playing with as she toddles around. She has shown a particular liking to a travel size bottle of Downy Wrinkle Release spray that I kept in the bottom drawer in the master bathroom. At times she likes to take the little cap on and off and pretend to spray her hair, but for the most part it just must be a comfortable size to hold. She is pretty good with not trying to put it in her mouth or I wouldn't allow her to play with it at all.
One area of change for Janie that is a lot of fun this past month is her play. She seems to be transitioning from the exploitative stage into doing more mimicking. She likes to copy what Clara is doing and we have noticed just how much she pays attention to our actions. She loves to play with play food and Clara's dolls. One day Clara & I were doing her hair in the bathroom and thought Janie was playing with the kitchen in Clara's room. I was floored to walk in and realize she had taken all (about 8 of them) of the wooden dolls out of their bin, placed them on Clara's bed, climbed up the little step stool and was sitting on Clara's bed playing with the dolls just the way Clara does (to keep them away from Janie).

Janie continues to take off with her speech, using lots of phrases. It seems like her willingness to ask for things she wants really reduces the fits and fussiness during the day and leads to a much happier girl and parents! At night, she still tends to verbalize less and fuss more, but that is to be expected. Some surprising things she is saying this month include, knowing the difference between some of the Disney princesses, especially "Ai-wee-el" who is Clara's current favorite, attempting to name colors (she likes to touch the stripes on her wall and say the color, and while she is getting better, she isn't exactly accurate with anything besides "yeh-yow"), she names her body parts and pieces of clothing, most of the food she likes to eat (recognizing "egg" and "meat" all by herself). Sometimes she will even try and start singing a song she wants to sing together. Right now her favorites are Happy Birthday and the playgroup welcome song.

When Janie's initial attempts at communications are not effective, she tends to continue to repeat it, OVER and OVER, whether we understands what she is staying or even if we repeat what she tells us and have to tell her no. Then she starts getting louder and more threatening. Recently, she decided that she wanted an M&M from the candy jar in the dining room. She stood below the jar pointing "That! Want That! Cawn-dee!" When I told her no, she kept repeating, louder and louder. Fed up with my unwillingness to fork over the M&M, she attempts to climb the buffet and get it herself. Boy, she was not happy being carried into the other room without "Cawn-dee"!!

Our little sweetie has started to tell us "happy" when she seems to feel happy. It is often unprompted and is just the best feeling in the world. Grandma Jan picked her up and kissed her the other day and Janie told her "Happy!" So glad Grandma could share is some of the joy she is sharing with us these days!

When she is feeling well, Janie's appetite really has picked up! It felt like most of what we put on her tray last month ended up on the floor, where now there is the occasional piece, but nothing like before. She has days were she seems like a bottomless pit and eats twice as much as Clara. She also is a good drinker and is always asking for more water in her cup.

While we were starting to make some progress with sleep last month, Janie caught a nasty cold that really lingered. One thing that we have learned about sick Janie is that she wants to be held constantly and does not sleep well at all. Mommy (even Daddy needed to help out) was doing lots of rocking, slightly shaking the car seat, or rolling the stroller back in forth in a dark, humid room only to get 45 minutes of sleep out of the little gal. We were not a happy household for a while there!!! While the cold eventually got better and lead to longer stretches of sleep, Clara then got the cold and both girls ended up with ear infections right before Christmas.

Now that she is feeling better, Janie's happy and playful self is continuing to shine through! She can be the a really tough kid when she is sick, but it is all worth when she is feeling well. She is happy, playful and so interested in learning and interacting.

Black Friday Bowling...

2011-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

This year we spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Quincy with Kevin's side of the family. In light of Murray's passing it was extra special to be together and we did our best to keep the day lighthearted and joyful despite the circumstances. Amy hosted a delicious meal. Even Janie thought so, as she wouldn't let me take more than one consecutive bites. She kept saying, "more, more, moooore!"

Janie enjoyed some time with Grandpa Zane and Hailey.

She even took a liking to many of Zane's toys. It was cute to see her play her first game of "army." Around this time she was gravitating more towards cars and physical toys.

Clara, on the other hand, played all day in Hailey's room with her Lalaloopsy dollys, Groovy Girls and Littlest Pet Shop figurines (Good mental notes for Santa). She also enjoyed tinkering around on the piano.

After dinner the kids had a fun round of Apples to Apples, involving the rest of the group whenever they had difficult times as the judge. They are all such great kids and even as they get older and transition into the teen/tween stage, seem to really enjoy hanging out together.

The day ended with a long indoor nerf gun battle. The Hunt / McKee must have at least 15 different nerf guns and hundreds of foam bullets and balls. Ashley & Taylor get in on the action

Hailey

Kevin & Todd took things pretty seriously...

(Good position Todd!)

Kevin's war face

Zac

While the battle was taking place, Uncle Elmer and Janie were hanging out. He has a great touch with babies and often jokes about stealing her. We joke back that he'd want her until he has to try and get her to sleep (and stay asleep) at night.

Funny Kid!

2011-12-26T16:48:00.000-08:00

Clara's Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

2011-12-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Clara's preschool class held a little Thanksgiving feast during the last 45 minutes of their class time. Families were welcomed to bring their child's favorite food, listen to the children perform their Thanksgiving songs and view their themed art projects. Clara insisted we bring her favorite, macaroni & cheese, although Mommy refused to make her favorite kind (that comes in a pink box). It was adorable to watch her with friends from her class and feel so proud about having Janie and Mommy come to her class.

Before they ate, the kids went around the table and mentioned what they were thankful for. It is pretty hard to hear in the video, but Clara's response was "princesses!"

Feasting!

The group also sang the Thanksgiving songs they had been practicing all month. Clara had been singing (with a very projected voice), "Oh I am glad I'm not a turkey" every day for the past month, and then when given the opportunity to perform, sings quietly along with her classmates. Tee hee hee!

Preschool continues to go well for Clara. She loves going every day and adores her teachers. I think Clara has particularly connected with Mrs. Mac, who always has such glowing things to say about her, like that "she is such a little lady!" It sure feels good to know that your child is sweet and well behaved away from home, and to know that in her time out of the home independently she is adored as well.

Cousins & Christmas PJ's from Grandma Jan

2011-12-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

14 months with Gem!

2011-11-22T22:20:00.001-08:00

Our little baby girl is a changing...

Even though she is our second child and she took her time starting to walk, it was still just as amazing and thrilling to witness her take her first steps. One of the best milestones this past month! Janie's steps are few as her silly sideways crab crawl is still her preference but there are times she will get up and show off her moves. Like last week at playgroup when we we just getting ready to sing our welcome song, Janie stood up and walked toward the center of the circle. The group quickly noticed and was cheering her on. For the rest of circle time, she kept showing off in the same way! It was adorable! The month ahead is sure to be interesting as she continues to use her new walking skills.

Janie is really learning to love playgroup. We attend most Wednesdays and have been going since Clara was 8 months old. Now I can whole-heartedly say that Janie loves it just as much, if not more (right now) than Clara does. She gets into the hand motions of the songs and seems to have figured out the routine. When the clean-up song was sang the other day, she quickly seated herself next to the kids and I swear she said "snack," the next activity! She is old enough to really get in on the parachute play, both in shaking and at the end when we give the children a ride. She has a couple of friends around the same age, Rhiona & Emma, and we had our first Toddler Time playdate with them recently.

Even more than taking her first steps, Janie's communication has continued to take off this month! She can be choosy about when she talks, but we are learning to have mini conversations with her. They usually are about what she wants to eat or do, but it is clear that she understands what we are asking and gives her preference. For example, tonight at dinner:

Are you hungry for food, Janie?

(she makes sign for food and please. Sometimes she will say the words too)

What would you like to eat?

Nan-na

Would you like carrots?

No.

Would you like peas?

No.

Would you like banana?

Nan-Na, (making sign for please)

Lately she REALLY likes bananas, muffins (she calls cake), cheese, yogurt and spaghetti. Other things seem to be hit and miss, and when I say hit, I mean hit the floor! Man-o-man, can this kid make a mess with a Ritz cracker!

When she is tired Janie will ask for a ba-ba or milk, or say night-night, which is also what she calls her soft Little Giraffe blankets that she sleeps with. She has had some great sleep in the past month, too! Some she has slept through the night, but others she is up at 2 am happy and ready to party. It just isn't consistent but are blaming the bad nights on being sick or teething (still only have the 5). Going down for naps has become a lot easier. Some days she will take two naps, but on days where we have to go get Clara from school there are times her schedule gets thrown off and she will have a day or two with just one nap, but at least they are for longer stretches. She wakes up happy from her naps and loves to be greeted by Clara. She gets so excited to see her and bounces up and down in her crib.

Janie's growth seems to be very consistent. She wears 12-18 months clothes, even some 18-24 pieces, but we are having to pack up most of the 6 -12 month things and the second time around it is just as hard. Somehow after Clara I knew we'd use them again, but that may not be the case this time around.

With as timid as our little Gem is about walking, she is really quite brave when it comes to climbing. She has learned to crawl up the stairs very quickly and often thinks of it as a chase game when she makes a break for it and gets up a few of them. She also loves the little climber and slide we have in the bonus room. It did not take her long to climb up the slide and then just recently has started doing the ladder-like stairs. I turned my head the other day and she was up on the kid table trying to climb up to the kitchen counter. I think Clara was 2 1/2 before she ever tried that!

Really, Janie's drastic difference in personality from Clara has created most of our parenting challenges, as well as the highlights in raising her. We anticipate that she'll approach something one way and yet she always surprises us. Honestly, before Janie arrived I had fears about raising sisters and how to foster their own sense of self and uniqueness, but the more we get to know Janie, and Clara, I realize that is the least of our worries. From the the tips of her blonde hair to her particular taste is toys and foods, she is already beautifully unique... and fascinating to her Mommy & Daddy!

A girl & her blankie!

2011-11-22T22:18:00.001-08:00

Just Playin'

2011-11-21T12:11:00.001-08:00

Clara and Janie have such different personalities already! Even beyond their age difference and its impact on their play, Clara is great about sitting and playing independently while Janie prefers to interact. Specifically, she seems thrilled to be a part of Clara's independent play. There are some toys that seem to hold Janie's attention for little bits of independent play, like the balls she is holding above. She will take them all out, one by one, examining them and then put them all back in.

Clara with two of her favorite activities, dress up dolls and crafts.

Despite just taking her first steps, Janie is pretty physical and loves to climb on or into things.

And then there are these classic toys, that both of our girl love to play...

Clara has such an amazing imagination and can make a game or activity with just about anything she has. It is funny that all of the baby toys we pull back out for Janie are all new and exciting for her. Conversely, Janie finds her own ways to play with Clara's toys and already LOVES legos!

Yummy Surprise

2011-11-21T11:56:00.001-08:00

The girls received a delicious delivery the other day from one of Kevin's co-workers and her family!

These fun fall themed cookies were thoroughly enjoyed!

2011-11-21T11:46:00.001-08:00

On our last trip to Chehalis, Grandpa Mark got out his lawn tractor and the utility wagon and took the kiddos for a ride. What a great time they all had, even Grandpa!

Baby Steps... Literally!

2011-11-15T11:19:00.001-08:00

Last night Janie Caroline made some sweet little baby steps! We are SO proud of her and think she is pretty proud of herself as well, which is so delightful to watch! The video is brief and includes Mommy & Daddy's loud (and goofy) cheers, but it shows TEN consecutive steps!

Over the past week she has been taking one or two steps. Similar to her approach to crawling, she can do it, but she doesn't seem to really enjoy it. Last night we bribed her with a piece of a M&M and lots of praise and it seemed to do the trick. She walked further than she had before. Look out world, our Janie is on the move!

Get Well Auntie Michele!

2011-11-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Our dear, sweet friend and honorary Auntie to our girls, is going through a battle with thyroid cancer and right now her treatments have her pretty weak. It has been hard on us because we have not been able to be there for her as much as we would like this past month. Nonetheless, she is in our thoughts and prayers throughout each day. We put together a little Smilebox for her, to let her know how important she is in all of our lives while incorporating some of her favorite things: Purple, Country Music, Texas, Seahawks, Mariners, UW and of course, US!

For those of you that follow Adventure of Scout & Gem, please say a prayer of strength and health for our dear friend, Michele!

Girls Enjoying a Fall Afternoon

2011-11-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Sweeties in Overalls

2011-11-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

~ Our Halloween Girls ~

Clara with her yummy witch cookie from Cindy & Davis

Photos with Mommy & Daddy - This year it was just the four of us so we were not able to get a family shot on Halloween day.

Daddy came home a little early and Mommy made homemade turkey chili and bone bread sticks for our Halloween meal.

Janie's first time Trick-or-Treating

Clara loved being Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Many of her friends were also princesses this year, like Cinderella Leah!

Helping herself to C-A-N-D-Y!

Posing with her pal Olivia (also in her lovely Princess dress)!

Pumpkin Carving at the Michaels

2011-11-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

Clara was very excited to carve pumpkins. She went to town wiping them all down and getting them all ready to go, but as soon as Daddy cut into them, she really wasn't all that interested in participating. We were really not all that shocked because this was the same stance she took last year. She gave the scraping part a try once Daddy had all the "guts" out, but wasn't all that interested.

As part of our "Boo" gift Clara we got a fun felt pumpkin decorator kit and it was really more her style...

While Daddy worked away on the complicated designs we picked out... yes, one was a lovely princess carving, Ariel in fact, to match Clara's beloved costume, us girls enjoyed some of our favorite Halloween books. This spooky little one captivates them both!

Next, it was Janie's turn to get messy in the pumpkin and she loved it! She was surprisingly hesitant at first, maybe because she was just up from her nap, but she dove right in and kept taking the pumpkin guts in and out of the bowl. She also got a little bowl and started collecting the pumpkin seeds - Smart little gal!

Meanwhile, Clara was more content curled up on the couch with some Dora and Olivia the Pig.

Our sweet lil' pumpkin baby! We really should have tried this last year and maybe she would have fit!

The finished jack-o-lanterns. The complicated designs by Daddy and the freehand funny face by Mommy!

Preschool Halloween Party

2011-10-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

What a fun experience it was to attend Clara's preschool Halloween party. It just happened to work out that we were all able to go together and Kevin and I were absolutely tickled and beaming with pride watching our little Ariel perform the songs with her class. They sang Fall is Here, Mr. Pumpkin and Five Little Pumpkins, complete with all the hand motions. And while Clara didn't sing as confidently (and loud) as she does at home, we could hear her well amongst the group.

In the past two months of preschool, we have seen a lot of great changes in Clara. She has really developed her art skills, willingness to listen to (and give) directions, improved conversation skills, and come home with sweet tid-bits of knowledge. The highlight just might be hearing her recite the Pledge of Allegiance flawlessly and some of the adorable little songs she sings.

We are very happy with the program and her caring teachers. She continues to have zero hesitation about going to school or about me leaving her there. The hugs when we go to pick her up are amazing. Each day in the car ride home she tells me about what some of the kids shared (last activity of the day) and of course, most importantly, what they had for snack.

After the songs, the kids got to go Trick-or-Treating at the offices in the Community Center.

Then it was time for treats!!!

Clara with her Princess Pal, Aspen

Our Little Pumpkins

2011-10-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

Cousins & Papa Mark's Special Pumpkins

2011-10-30T22:41:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Murray... In his Grandkids words

2011-10-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Murray Michael was a gift to us all... A loving and devoted friend, spouse, parent and grandparent, wrapped in a sense unique sense of humor that made everyone adore him. Guided by what we feel he would have wanted, we chose to honor him at his memorial service with the help of grandchildren and a little humor.

Smiles on a day of tears...

2011-10-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

Clara and Janie are so blessed with the greatest group of cousins from both sides of our family. On the Michael side, they are the little ones who are doted on by their older cousins. In turn, Clara idolizes them and I am sure that it wont be long before Janie does as well. We wish we got to spend more time with them all and therefore appreciate the time we do get.

Unfortunately this visit was under the saddest of circumstances. Their Grandpa Murray's health took a turn for the worst and on this day these sweet, innocent kids shared some of their last moments with him, a man that was devoted to his family, and in turn so special to all of them.

After hours at the hospital, we all needed a break. It was a beautiful fall day in Wenatchee and so we visited a wonderful park just down the road. Spending some time away from the hurt, stress and confusion seemed to be exactly what these kids needed most at that time. Despite differences in age, they all played together, laughing, running, and being silly. Honestly, it was heartwarming to see. And so I was compelled to pull out my camera to capture some of these sweet moments.

For me, this trip to the park was a strange, yet greatly needed reminder of God's order. Sometimes there really are moments of profound beauty embedded within the saddest times in our lives. Over and over in the days before, during, after Murray's passing on October 19th, we realized how many displays of this nature there really are... Many beautiful gestures made (like this from some amazing friends), so many loving people to offer support and most importantly the opportunity to be together and appreciate one another even more.

What a beautiful blessing this family is!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

During our last trip to Chehalis, we had a free afternoon and some dry weather so we all went just down the road from Grandma & Grandpa's to a fun little pumpkin patch. The kids had so much fun picking out their pumpkins and hanging out in the wagons.

Bear Boy finds his perfect pumpkin

Our Sweet Lil' Pumpkins

Cousin Brendan

Grandma, Grandpa & their Grandkiddos

Cousin Taylor

We are glad that we had this opportunity to go to the pumpkin patch this year. Little did we know then the way the rest of the month would unfold with Murray's health (the next day he went into the hospital) and that we wouldn't have time to make it out to another local pumpkin patch as we had planned. It was a fun family day!

13 month old Gem!

2011-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Mommy had so much fun with these Picky Stickies during Janie's first year, I decided to buy a set for her second year. We'll see how easy getting this years photos will be though. Mommy didn't get the lighting right or the best expressions out of Janie, but with her moving all over the place, and picking on the sticker itself, it was a challenge and I am just glad to have a few shots of her looking at the camera.

In the month since her first birthday, most of Janie's developmental milestones seem to be the areas of listening and performing. It is such a fun time in parenting to realize that your little one really understands so much of what we are communicating with/telling/asking them. If she wants to be cooperative, Janie is great about putting things back, getting a specific book or toy, standing up, taking an item or saying something on command. She also knows when we are re-directing behavior orally, but sometimes is a little to stubborn to do what we ask. She lets us know she knows by freezing for a second, thinking about it and then usually making a loud, obnoxious protest noise. It isn't long before she is back at it. We are finding that she does a lot more limit testing than Clara did at this age and is a lot harder to distract. Being so strong-willed will serve her well when she is older!

Janie loves to play! Right now some of her favorite toys and the town blocks, Daddy got her for her birthday, the stacking rings, balls, her blue car and whatever toy Clara is playing with. She likes to take items out and put them back in a container. And, like her big sister, Janie LOVES books, especially ones with animal sounds like Moo, Baa, La La La. We read them over and over, but it is just so darn cute to hear her say the noises. We can't get her to oink or quack, but right now her favorite is to neigh like a horse. And Mama's favorite it to hear her make the rooster sound which comes out ca-do-do-do!

Recently, Janie has done a lot more independent standing and can get to the standing position without pulling herself up on anything. We are very proud of this and when we get excited for her, we can tell she feels proud too! Occasionally we can trick her into a half step, but she really isn't interested in doing any walking. She LOVES walking holding our hands and says "wa-ee, wa-ee" while she moves along, but the second she doesn't feel secure she sits down.

Our Gem baby's sleep isn't quite where we'd hoped it would be at this point, but this has been a rough month where we have been away from home, so we are blaming the crazy circumstances for her new routine of frequent wake-ups at night and wanting to eat multiple times. We are looking forward to re-establishing her routine soon.

By the look of those sweet chubby legs, you can tell that Janie is a pretty good eater. We have not figured out any rhyme or reason to what she does or does not like because it is inconsistent. Some meals she just seems to have too much fun throwing food on the floor that we've broken down and given her pureed baby food, which she will always take. Other days it seems like she can't get enough of something and doesn't fling a piece. Janie made the transition to cow's milk really well and typically sucks down her bottles. She does great with a sippy cup too. I had a few starter cups I tried using, but she was always wanting Clara's cup, so now they are using the same type, despite it being large for Janie. Somehow she still knows which one is Clara's and will drain Sister's water the first chance she gets. And so it begins...

Every day it seems like we can get Janie to say a new word. Sometimes she is inconsistent in using them on her own. She still loves to say "Uh-Oh, eh-e-O" her version of Uh-Oh, Spaghetti-O and Peek-a-boo, and Tickle-Tickle. One of the sweetest things she now says is her own name. When we ask her "What is your name?" she responds patting her chest "Naa-nee" - Absolutely melts my heart!

In general, Janie can be a little rougher than Clara was at this age, most likely due to the fact that she is learning to hold her own with her sister and the other kids that come around. In settings with children, she likes to be right in there where the action is instead of in our arms or in the carrier. She is such a sweet child and lately we all have appreciated her cute smiles and silly play to lighten the mood and lift our spirits. A delightful blessing!

Grandpa Murray

2011-10-18T00:15:00.000-07:00

Right now I really cannot find the proper words to express my fondness and appreciation for my father-in-law, Murray, as he nears the end of his fight with cancer, but I feel the need to just do something. In the hours/days ahead, as he goes to be with our Lord, as hard as it will be, I want to take in as much of the thoughts and memories that are shared, so that I can help our girls have as firm of understanding as possible of what an amazing individual their grandfather is. And how deeply he loves them, and loves us all! The pictures I have thrown together above are just a sampling of some priceless memories we've shared with him.

October Birthday Buddies!

2011-10-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

One of my all-time favorite family traditions has to be getting to celebrate my birthday with my grandfather, who's birthday is just three days after mine. All but one year in the past 32, when my grandparents were traveling in their RV on the East Coast, we have been together to celebrate around our birthdays! With each passing year the tradition means more and more. My Papa Bob is such an awesome guy and we have shared many amazing experiences through the years from traveling to tutoring lessons, building rabbit cages to shopping for prom dresses, and even as roommates during my first college years. I am so thankful for our relationship!

Below are some of the photos from those special celebrations together!

Some adorable photos from my first years...

Some not-so-adorable looks (believe it or not, this isn't the worst. There are some from my teens I am absolutely unwilling to share on the blog)

Some from my twenties...

And some from the most recent years...

I love this photo Kevin snapped of us this year! Looking forward to celebrating his 90th birthday next year!! I love you, Pop!

THIRTY-TWO

2011-10-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Just like I am amazed at how our children's milestones and birthdays come so quickly, I also can't believe how fast I too am "growing up" - at least in years! I remember both of my parents being 32 and thinking of them as... um... well, I don't mean to say old, not at all, because to me my parents will always be young, but... really grown up. In so many ways I still feel like I am just out of college, and every once in a while, I stop myself and realize, Oh! I have been married to Kevin SIX years and we have TWO children! WOW! And while some days are really hard, having to juggle it all, for the most part, it feels like a dream come true!

Mama enjoying my babies on my birthday!

Together we had a nice little evening with a little shopping for me and a dinner out at The Cheesecake Factory (because that's about as fancy as we get when we go anywhere with kids anymore). After dinner, we came home for some fun family time, my only request, beside not having to make or clean up dinner. Kevin brought home this yummy little chocolate cake and Clara was eyeing it all evening along with me!

This is Scout's "Excited for Cake Face"

Daddy & the girls arranged a few sweet surprises for Mommy! A nice book and yummy chocolate from Janie...

a Lady Antebellum (our mutual favorite) cd from Clara...

...and a pretty sweater from Kev! So spoiled!

After cake and gifts, the girls each took a turn on the new hand-me-down train from Jodi's kids. It has been such a hit with them both. We were actually shocked at how little time it took Janie to figure it out and make it go all on her own. It was indeed a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, even if I have to face being all grown up!

(So sad I didn't get a photo of Kevin from the evening! He worked hard to make it special for me and I really appreciate it!)

Salmon Days

2011-10-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

The arrival of this years Salmon Days brings to mind two thoughts: 1) Wow, we have been living in Issaquah SEVEN years already. We have been coming to the festival most years, except for last year when Janie was new and Mommy was working at the Tea for Hope, and 2) How is my birthday here again? In past years my side of the family has come up for a mini celebration. This year we will be headed to Chehalis next weekend so it was just my parents who joined us. With two kids in tow, that was perfect. We always appreciate extra hands!

Right away, Clara spotter Sammy the Salmon and we were able to get a photo of them together!

Clara made a colorful salmon print at the Seattle Children's Hospital booth! Her art skills have really improved since she has started school!

Grandma & Grandpa Stevens

Clara & Grandma making silly faces while waiting in line for the pony rides! Clara's favorite!

Daddy & Grandma took both girls on the train ride - Choo Choo!

Then we went to check out the fish. This is always crazy and since Clara and Mommy had been to the hatchery the prior week for a school field trip and Grandpa has been on the river catching fish lately, we didn't spend all that much time here. Poor Janie was melting down...

Janie's first Salmon Days!

Grandma & Clara were big fans of all the booths and fun prizes. Clara won some great stickers! What a fun-filled day and nice way to continue our silly little tradition. Who knows, maybe next year we'll participate in the fun run too!?!

Happy 5th Birthday, Logan!

2011-10-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

In the same weekend as the Royal Princess Ball, we attended our dear friend Logan's 5th Birthday Party that had an awesome TRON theme. Christy outdid herself with a cool black glow in the dark room, amazing treats and awesome decoration! I wasn't sure how our Princess Clara would take to the unfamiliar theme, but the kiddo had a blast. Janie even did, too!

Checking in with Grandma Elaine

2011-10-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

It had been way too long and since we were headed down past Auburn, we stopped by and visited Grandma Elaine. Grandma is so delighted to see children and this time, we really only had to tell her once that they were her great-grandchildren and she seemed to know they were "hers" as other patients would come around, her mothering instincts are still very active. One thing we can always count on from Grandma Elaine is making genuine comments since she makes the same ones over and over having not realized it. Like every trip she commented on Clara's "big black eyes" and then this time that she was a "smart girl." She thought Janie was big (although she wasn't consistent on gender) and liked petting her soft hair.

I have so many wonderful memories of my sweet Grandma Elaine and am so happy that even though they may be very different experiences than what I have shared with her, my girls are getting to make some of their own. Now Grandma won't remember one thing from our visit, but for those minutes she is happy and joyful. One thing that is clear to me... LOVE transcends the stinkin' Alzheimer's Disease! Every trip is is a little bittersweet, but she always tells me she loves me and that she treasures her family and I know deep within she knows how much I love and adore her too!

Clara & the Royal Princess Ball

2011-10-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Princess Clara Natalie was recently invited to a Royal Princess Ball in honor of her friend Vivi who was turning three. What an enchanted event the party was. While Clara adores everything princessy and pink right now, she was in pure awe of the event. The photo above shows her wonderment.

When we arrived, there was a place to get your make-up and hair done, a station to decorate a wand, and station to get accessorized. Of course there were similar stations for the knights and princes in attendance as well. Then Scout headed over to the pink bouncy castle to get her jump on.

Beautiful (and delicious) cake!

Before long "Cinderella" as Clara referred to her, arrived and gave a sweet little presentation to the kids. Some of the photos are from my iphone and are pretty poor quality.

Can you believe our little Princess has had no formal dance training? Tee hee hee!

Photos with the lovely Cinderella

And then there was the tea party

Over 35 kiddos!

Clara enjoyed helping herself to the food, especially the big bowl of strawberries!

And then it was time to sing sweet Vivi Happy Birthday. What a fantastic Princess day!

Clara will not be forgetting this party any time soon!

Enjoying the last days of Summer

2011-10-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Some of the last days of summer provided the weather we have been hoping for all summer. Luckily we were able to spend a lot of that time outside getting our fill of sunshine and wearing the girls out!

Such a fun afternoon! The girls had such a great time playing, both together and independently at the playground. Swinging may just be their favorite part! It brings this Mama so much joy to watch them enjoy one another this way!

2011-10-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

While Janie's Birthday Party was a very fun day, it was busy and with so many guests, it was hard for us to give our little sweetie, and her big sister our undivided attention. Of course, with all the relatives and playmates, they were both in absolute heaven. On September 20th, Janie's actual birthday, we did some fun things as a family to mark her special day and the amazing year that we have had as a family of four! Mommy took a lot of photos! Even some of Janie dressed in the outfit Clara wore on her first birthday.

When Daddy got home we celebrated with dinner out at Tutta Bella. We were going to try and go back to the Cheesecake Factory where we went for Clara's first birthday, but opted to stay closer to home so that we could have some fun at home afterwards and still get the girls to bed at a decent hour. With two, it is funny how the schedule is even more important! Mommy & Daddy did enjoy a glass of champagne (like we did with Clara) to celebrate all our hard work over the past year.

Family iphone shots at Tutta Bella

Daddy with his princesses!

Once we were back at home, we let Janie tear into another cupcake. Mommy left the decorations up from the big birthday party so it still felt very festive!

Such an angel face!

Big sister playing the birthday fairy in Janie's tu-tu and Mom's shoes!

Before bed, we let Janie open some gifts. First was the plush Aurora doll Clara picked out especially for Janie. Not long after it was opened, Clara decided that Janie really didn't need it as much as she did, just as we predicted, providing a tough but important little life lesson. Good thing Janie is a great sharer and therefore Aurora has even made the trip to preschool as Clara's sharing item.

With all of Big Sister's help, Janie kind of got the idea behind gift opening. She shared lots of "ooohs" "aaahs" and "wows" as the packages were opened. I love the photo below of Janie opening her special book from Mommy & Daddy. Instead of a card, each holiday or special occasion we get the girls a book that we write a message and sometimes put a photo in. For her first birthday, Mommy selected If I Could Keep You Little... It was the perfect book for me to read since on this occasion. I needed the reminder that if we were able to keep our little ones small, we would be missing out on all of the wonderful milestones that happen at each stage of development.

With our darling Janie Caroline, we have so many amazing adventures to look forward to! And many more sweet celebrations as a family!

Gem's 1st Year in Picky Sticky Photos

2011-10-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

A picture collage by Smilebox

I am a little late on getting these posted, but it is just too sweet not to share. I made a banner with the photos for her birhtday party and it was so neat to see her develop, month by month, into the kid she is today. I love these Picky Stickies so much that when I bought a set for a gift, I bought Janie a set for her second year too!

Janie's Birthday Celebrations!

2011-09-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

What a fun time we had celebrating Janie's first birthday with rabbits, pinwheels, sweet treats and lots of robins egg blue and pink! I have a ridiculous amount of photos from the parties so I thought the best way to post them would be through collages. Still I wish I had taken more photos of everyone at the party, especially the kids on their sugar highs! At times Mommy went a little overboard and my grandma reminded me that Janie is too young to appreciate all the fuss, but I have decided that while the celebration is indeed about her, it is really for Us - all her family and friends! And the bunny part, well that is for Mommy. I have learned by the time she is two, she will know what she wants and this was my opportunity to have the theme that I adore!

Looking Back... Remlinger Farms

2011-09-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some iphone photos from a trip to Remlinger Farms a few weeks back with Cindy & Davis. The weather was great and it was surprisingly not that busy. Mommy wished I would have brought a better stroller for the gravel pathways, but we made it work and let the kids have a blast.

Clara was all about the rides and so brave about popping on them all without any hesitation. Davis on the other hand, is still a little timid after a little minor ride trauma in Disneyland and refused to go on anything that left the ground. He preferred to climb on the cars and check out the animals.

This trip, Clara wanted her photo taken in every one of these photo opps. It was pretty cute!

Janie loved meeting some of the animals and giggled at little goat.

Clara and Davis made several rounds in these cute little canoes.

Janie managed to get in a great stroller nap, too!

Clara was delighted to end the day with a tasty treat!

Looking Back... M's Game

2011-09-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

I am getting these posted a few weeks late, but here are some iphone photos from our fun trip to the Mariner's game with the Keddington family. We had only been to one other game this season (with Kev's firm) and it happened to be while Clara was at Grandma's so it was fun to see her reaction this year. As expected, it was all about the snacks!

And Davis, of course!

Janie had a fun time too. She clapped enthusiastically every time the crowd got excited.

Fun Times, and a M's win!

We even squeezed in a fun quick visit with Auntie Michele over at her seats!

Happy Birthday Janie Caroline!

2011-09-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

I know I have been saying it every month, but far and away, this year with our sweet Janie has been the fastest my life! As a whole the year has been the roughest we've ever experienced, both with learning to juggle our various roles while parenting two sweethearts, and with loved ones going through painful things. All the while, it has been wonderful to be surrounded by the happiness and love that our precious little family generates. Celebrating Janie has been a neat opportunity to focus those important values. We realize even more this past year how blessed we truly are!

Poor Janie started this past month our sick with her first ear infection and now ends the month with an icky cold that has hit all of us in the Michael Family. With Janie we know when things are wrong because she is up a lot at night and has some fussy spells through the day, but can manage to put on the best smile and continues to play hard through the discomfort. Quite a little trooper!

The long drawn out cold seems to have changed a few aspects of her development a little. For one, she was doing a lot less taking. We got the same 8-10 words/sayings, but she was unwilling to try new words or say things like "cookie" or "cracker" that she has been saying for a while. The pediatrician confirmed that this can be a normal side effect of a cold and over the past few days we have heard her talking significantly more so she must be feeling better. Secondly, there have been some changes in her feeding as well. She would just pick at food on her tray and learned to entertain herself by flinging it all over the place, followed (or sometimes even prefaced) by a "Uh-Oh." In order to get her to eat we went back to spoon feeding baby food and she seemed to love it. Janie also completely lost patience in nursing and weened herself just a few days before her birthday. The bottle is just so much more efficient and she is too busy of a kid these days. Still a little bittersweet milestone for Mama.

One of the biggest hits of the month has been Janie's infatuation with the animal sounds. Several books, an animal puzzle and the See-and-Say have become her favorite toys! One book in particular she will crawl around chasing us with and bang it against our leg until we read it with her. She makes the cutest Moo and Meow! When we took the girls to the fair and made the noises as we visited the different animals, at first she looked at us like we were crazy, but then when we would hear the animal make its noise, it was like we could see the wheels turning.

Janie and Clara continue to become closer with each passing month. When we come in to get Janie out of her crib after a nap we are met with a "Hi" and big smile, but when Clara comes in, Janie Bug starts bouncing and shrieking. Clara really does play nicely with her most of the time, but a little more frequently these days, she has gotten a little rough, pushing, taking toys away, even pulling Janie's legs out from under her. Occasionally there are tears, but for the most part our little Gem is a tough nut!

Janie is all over the place now, crawling and pulling herself up on anything she can. Recently she has really gotten quick. It is like we kind of had certain amount of time before she could make it down the hall to do a certain thing without shutting a door or leaving something within her reach... not any more! Just the other day, Daddy was getting Clara ready for bed after a bath and before he had a chance to turn around, Janie had crawled down the hall with a Little People toy in hand and plopped it in the toilet with a giggle - Silly kiddo!

Janie has started cruising around, walking behind push toys and does really great walking while holding our hands, but she is fairly cautious and wont even attempt to stand without help. If we let go, she sits right down. An approach similar to Big Sister's and I guess it spares her a few bumps and bruises.

At her 1 year appointment Janie's pediatrician was very pleased with her development. She weights 22 pounds, 9 ounces and is 30 inches long, putting her in the 75-90th percentile for both. Her growth has been pretty consistent throughout the whole year.

One trait we have noticed about Janie a lot this month is her focus. We used distraction with Clara every time we didn't want Clara to do something and she would easily change from playing with the remote to any random toy we made look appealing. This is not the case with Janie! She remembers the item we take away or pull her away from and at the very next available opportunity she is right back at it.

Janie also has picked up the work "No" in the past few weeks, and she uses it more often than we'd like. Hearing her say it tugs at my heartstrings a little because we tried really hard not to use the word with Clara and I don't remember her using the word until she was much older. Between the increased chaos in our household and not having the time/presence of mind to say "That's Daddy's computer" or "Please do not touch that"plus having Clara tell her "No, No" all the time, she picked it up quick. When she does use it, it is so darn sweet and goes something like this:

Me: "Janie, would you like more peas?"

~ Long pause as if she is contemplating it ~

Me: "More peas?" with the sign for more

Janie: (head tilt & soft response) "Nooo"

Reflecting back on the past year, it is amazing to think how much our little doll baby has changed. From the first few months were she slept all day to this silly kiddo with a passion for playing. From the plethora of silly coos and squeaks she made then, even when she was sleeping, to the words she communicates with now. And the joy she brings to our family each and every day sine her arrival... INCREDIBLE!

Happy Birthday, Janie Caroline! We all treasure you so much!

A girl and her dresses...

2011-09-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago it was a big ordeal to get Scout in a dress. How things have changed!! Ever since this Princess Phase all our little gal wants to wear is dresses and the longer dress, the better. After getting caught up on laundry the other day, I counted over 20 dresses in her closet! Thank goodness for some great hand-me-downs from cousin Taylor and finds at the neighbor's garage sale for some of those!

Staycation - Part III

2011-09-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day we stayed home and enjoyed the great weather that we were hoping for all summer. Daddy got out the sprinkler and the girls loved getting wet. Clara was timid at first and we had to give her little missions, like touching the sprinkler guy's head to get her to really get wet. Janie had fun throwing the ball toward the water and watching it move around when it was hit by the stream of water. It didn't take too long of playing this game until she was wet.

It is neat to see the girls play together and the older Janie gets, the more it happens. They thought it was pretty funny to sit in this fort together and peek out at us.

Then Janie, who is fearless in a way we never experienced with Clara at this age, kept trying to climb up the slide. She didn't quite make it up, but came closer than we thought she could. Clara sat at the top egging her on and howling each time she would slip.

The parallel play continued at the sand table. At the beginning of the summer Janie was too little to join in the messy fun. What a difference a season can make at this age because on this occasion she got right in.

The afternoon was made complete with a yummy ice cream sandwich! While we didn't get many days of great sunshine like this over the summer, we were thankful for the fun day together in our own little back yard. Next year, these gals are going to continue to have so much back yard fun together!

Staycation - part II

2011-09-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we took a fun family outing to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. It was our first time to this fair and the first stop was to see the rabbits. Mommy would love to find a new bunny for the girls in a few months, but it has to be just the right one, probably a Himalayan, although this little Mini Satin was pretty darn cute. At first, the girls liked looking at the rabbits, but after 10 minutes were ready to move on, where Mommy could spend the whole day looking.

After looking at some dogs and swinging through the commercial building, we had to find a tasty lunch. Daddy went right for the corn dog. Clara only seemed to be interested in sweets and rides at this point of the day and pouted for a while in the stroller.

Janie, on the other hand, was content riding along and absolutely loved the bites of scone we gave her!

We had a lot of fun checking out the goat, sheep, cats and pigs and were starting to think about round two of food when we ran into Paul Brown, Michele's Dad.

It happened that the Browns were also at the fair that day so we sat and visited with them for a while. The girls were happy to see Michele.

We finished up looking around at the fair museum and some of the old tractors and implements. This may have been Daddy's favorite part.

It was a fun family outing, but we decided that we prefer the Puyallup or S.W.W. Fair to this one and probably wont make it back anytime soon.

Year 3 of the Labor Day Stay-cation

2011-09-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Long gone are the Dave Matthews Band Labor Day weekends at the Gorge, of quick weekend getaways that we used to enjoy as non-parents. Now, as parents, we have made a new tradition of the Labor Day Stay-cation. Quite honestly, while different, just as much fun!

On Saturday we had beautiful weather and headed out for a picnic in the park and made it home in time to catch the Husky game. Notice Clara above who is practicing her cheer moves!

Both of our little sweeties love to swing, but it is so heartwarming to watch our Scout be such a great big sister and want to push Janie in the swing!

Then it became Daddy's Job to push them both...

"Weeeeeeee! Weeeeeeee!"

It is so darn cute to hear her say it!

It is amazing how kids are not phased by spinning. Clara could do this for hours, but after a few spins, Mom & Dad need to sit down.

At this age, Janie prefers the dip to the spin. When you try and stop dipping, she will get so excited she will just force herself backwards in your arms.

That evening, while his Mommy & Daddy were celebrating their anniversary, Mr. Davis came down for a fun evening of dress up and movies. With Jake & the Neverland Pirates as their inspiration, these sweet kiddos played a fun treasure game and insisted upon being called "Jake" and "Izzy" insisting that Janie was "Cubby." Even Daddy got into the fun playing Captain Hook!

Davis bought along his snazzy treasure chest so we turned it into a hunt for gold doubloons and these two were loving it.

Davis showing off his find, and Clara with her gold treasure.

We are so thankful for their sweet friendship. Clara may boss poor Davis around from time to time, but she plays differently, possibly even more imaginatively, with Davis than her other playmates. We just love having him around!

Baby gets new shoes...

2011-09-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Janie's cute lil' yellow shoes Grandma Jan bought her at the Tea for Hope auction almost a year ago are fitting... and she loves them. They match great with this sweet hand-me-down sundress from cousin Taylor Alain. Janie, who is all over and into everything is pretty fond of her pretty new shoes, too! This day "shoe" seemed to be her favorite word!

Something about a sleeping BABY...

2011-09-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Not much about our sweet little Janie Bug resembles a baby any more, but there is something about a sleeping child, where you can still notice and appreciate how little they still really are. So completely precious!

Scout's First Day of Preschool!

2011-09-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

September 1, 2011

Our sweet first little baby attended preschool today! We know she is absolutely ready for all that the year of preschool has in store for her, but it is somehow a little bittersweet realizing that this day is already here!

At three and a half, Clara is a super-friendly kid. She is always initiating interaction with other children in whatever setting we are in, even in crazy places like public restrooms. She has a wild imagination and over and over we are amazed at what she will come up with, yet somehow, she always finds a way to loop whatever she is playing or pretending around to her favorite activities of princesses (really anything she thinks is girly) or play food/kitchen. We eat so much pretend culinary creations from Clara, that Janie already knows the drill and will pretend to take something off a plate-like surface, pretend to eat it and say, "Yum!"

Clara showing how excited she is for preschool!

Proud Mama!

Walking up to school

She had no fear or reservations about going inside.

First project: Decorating their name tag.

Looking like a pre-schooler already!

During their free play, she loved checking out this play school house, served lots of play food and enjoyed the neat doll house.

Clara and her teachers for the year, Ms. Joanne and Mrs. Mac

Look what Daddy brought home...

2011-09-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

All of Daddy's girls missed him SO MUCH during the week he was away in London and we knew he was missing us too! He brought the girls home the cutest gifts. Love Janie's onesie, finger puppets and big red bus from Harrod's. And Clara is over the moon with her new princess gown and book of games from The Tower of London.

Summer arrives... In late August!?!

2011-09-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Summer finally is showing its face this year in the Pacific Northwest! It took till late August to pull out some of our water toys and enjoy the weather in our lil' backyard. Grandma Jan was in town this week to help Mommy out while Daddy was in London. Together we tried to take advantage of the end of summer and by keeping busy with outdoor activities. We spent lots of times in the parks, attended a Caspar Babypants outdoor concert and played in the fountains at Redmond Towne Center. We stayed busy enough that my camera didn't make it out/along as often as I had hoped and I got very few photos from the week.

At first, Janie was not too sure about the sprinkler mat. It felt cold and with Clara splashing around, she couldn't quite figure it out, but after a while she warmed up to the idea. She was interested in the squirting water and before long she crawled right in.

Clara required very little warming up this time as she got wet right away and kept wanting me to turn up the water pressure to make the sprinkler go higher.

Jane Bug getting snuggles from Grandma Jan!

Scout turning the spray mat into a water slide! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Beachy Bathtime Fun!

2011-08-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

We have been meaning to redecorate an upstairs bathroom for the girls for a while now and Daddy found some time in his busy schedule to paint the bathroom, so we finally got it put together. Clara once saw a Little Mermaid shower curtain at Target and NEVER forgot about it. Every time I asked her imput about a cute bathroom set, she would say, "I want an Under the Sea bathroom." And while I have come a long way in accepting my daughter's love of all things princesses, I was not about to devote an entire room in our home to the theme. When I found this, I felt it was a good compromise, beachy, yet not too Disney.

The girls have so much fun during bathtime!

What's been happening at our house...

2011-08-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Somehow it has been a busy summer! Despite not having big travel plans and not all that much summer weather, we have managed to keep really busy and this mama is a little behind on the blogging. It has become important to me to keep up with since I am not putting a whole lot of time into baby books, organizing photos or scrapbooks, so this little blog has somehow become a record of the happenings of our household. Here are some fun photos of our sweethearts!

Janie is getting into everything she can. She loves to take all of the contents out of a bin or drawer, looking at each item. While we have lots of toys strewn about, we are loving the curiosity.Fashionista Clara dressing up in the Nordstrom delivery, shirt for her and Mommy's boots!

Janie is loving all of the toddler toys of Clara's. She's always backing into everything in the Cozy Coupe and so badly wants to make the horn sound, but has yet to push it firmly enough on her own. Clara and Davis are still great pals, although now that he is in school, we see less of the little dude! This playdate they were having fun driving in their "car".

Janie pulling herself up in her crib!

Parallel Play! Clara has a renewed interest in all of the baby toys and Janie is content for long stretches of time as long as Clara is playing nearby.

Daddy's Girls!

2011-08-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

Janie & Clara adore their Daddy! He was in London this past week for work and their favorite playmate and story teller was sure missed! As a Mommy, getting to watch these tender moments of our girls with Daddy are such a thrill. As a "Daddy's Girl" myself, I know how important their relationship is now, and at every stage of their lives. Good thing he's a great one!

Janie is 11 months old!!

2011-08-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our little Gem-Baby has done a lot of changing in the past month! Somewhere in the past few weeks it seemed like she turned the corner from being a baby to well on her way to toddlerhood! How can this be!?! Even getting her to sit still for her photos this month was a challenge as she is really on the move.

This month, Janie started crawling and immediately after started pulling herself up on furniture large toys, and of course her crib. She is a little timid still with the push toys but is a big fan of pulling herself up on the baby gates we have put up and shaking them to get our attention. Even when they are left open, she shuts them just so she can stand up and shake them - Silly Turkey!!

Little Janie continues to have a great sense of humor and sure does a lot of laughing. We have been working on learning body parts (her favorites to say are "nose" and "toes") and animal sounds. We have some fun books with animals that we look at and make the different sounds. She seems to be catching on with a few of them. The other day when Janie and Mommy were on a walk, she spotted the neighbors cat and called out "Ma-ow, Ma-ow" - I was so surprised yet tickled at how smart our little sweetie seems to be! (Yes, I know, every parent thinks their child is a genius! Even though with my line of work, I know better, still we are always amazed at how bright and talented our children are. All children are pretty darn amazing, really!)

Sweet Janie likes playing with the Little People sets, blocks, puzzle pieces and playing in the play kitchen with Clara. She has already mastered the art of pretend eating. Clara has always liked to play pretend food, but right now her interest in it has surged so many times a day she serves it up to Janie, Daddy & Mommy. It really isn't at all surprising that J-Bug caught on to so quickly. Janie also loves to unload a bin or basket of all of its contents, so there a lots of piles of toys all over our house. She gets the best grin on her face when she does it, so the mess is all worth it!

For most of the month, Janie still just had the one tooth, but the other bottom front tooth has broke through and we can see a little white starting to peek out on the top left. Her single-tooth grin has been a lot of fun, but will be changing soon. Between teething, traveling to the beach and having a little cold, some of the progress we made with sleep last month was not maintained. She still wakes up several times per night and we are working towards getting her back to sleep with out eating. Some mornings she wakes up before 6:00 and is ready to play. Right about the time I get her to go back down (close to 2 hours later), it is time for Clara to wake up.

Janie is a great eater! With just one tooth, she still manages to put back lots of food and crackers. She really doesn't have much patience for baby food (we occasionally give her some to use up some of the supply we bought) but really loves any finger food we put on her tray. Veggies, fruit, cheese, meat, rice, bread, bland or with added spices, whatever... this kid will eat it! One big change this past month is her preference for bottles. I guess Mama just can feed her fast enough and so she typically only nurses twice a day. I recognize that it is a good time to transition, but still a little bittersweet from my perspective. It is just one more way, our little baby is no longer a baby.

Janie loves music. When she hears a song she likes she does this funny seated dance, twisting at the waist. She enjoys doing the hand motions to certain sayings like, "How big is Janie... So big!" or songs like, Wheels on the Bus continues to be her favorite song, but she also really gets into Twinkle Twinkle and All the Fishies! The other day, while singing Twinkle Twinkle, we realized that Janie was making a diamond with her fingers and we were amazed that she caught on so quickly. It really doesn't seem like that long ago that Clara was doing the same trick.

Janie is really willing to say a lot of words. I find myself doing a lot less signing because she will say most things that we prompt her to. Whether or not she understands is another story, but she goes through phases through the day where she is such a chatter box. And then there is the screeches. We thought Clara was loud and high pitched, but Janie seems to have topped Clara in that regard. WOW!! It is always when she is happy, but when she does it in public, EVERYONE looks at her. When she gets that kind of attention, it sure makes it hard to extinguish that type of behavior!

As she gets older, more and more of her little personality comes through. And while she is such a sweetheart, full of smiles and giggles, we are picking up on her strong sense of curiosity and her stubborn nature. Where we seemed to be able to easily distract Clara at this age from whatever dangerous/not ideal item that caught her eye, Janie is far more focused and persistent. You should see the face this kid makes when we tell her "no" (the 2nd or 3rd time, before it sinks in) I am sure these traits will serve her well in her future, but we are finding it to present some quirky parenting challenges. I see even more child safety precautions in our future!

At 11 months, we are in the process of planning our little gal's first birthday party and doing lots of wondering about how a year could possible go by so incredibly fast. And how much one little girl can enrich our little family!

"New" Bike!

2011-08-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

Kevin's co-worker recently gave Clara this great "Seahorse" bike that is just her size. Daddy fixed it up with some great training wheels and he and Clara took it out for a little spin. We still have to get her a helmet that fits right, and maybe some knee pads, but she is starting to get the hang of it.

Manzanita Trip 2011 - Part 2

2011-08-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

For the second half of this year's summer trip to the beach house we were joined by the Fisher Family. We had all done the trip together 2 years ago and had so much fun we just had to do it again. As the kids get older, there seems like there is more and more for them to do at the beach and we kept busy the whole time: Seaside, including the aquarium, carousel rides and treats from The Candy Man; Cannon Beach, warm day on the beach, playground fun and pizza at the park; Tilamook for the cheese factory and Blue Heron petting zoo, Munson Falls hike, Rockaway Beach for fish & chips, and lots of fun in the sand on Manzanita beach. Despite some rough nights, Miss Janie was such a trooper and took some naps in the stroller and Ergo carrier. She was captivated by the activity of all of the older kids and even got a lot of sweet attention from her birthday pal, Logan.

On Monday, Cory and Kevin had to head back to work, but our friend Dacey from high school came down with her kids, Kyan & Celisse, for one night. The kids were in heaven with the fun adventures, great playmates and of course, our stops for ice cream! Hopefully we will be able to continue this tradition in the years to come. It gives us all an opportunity for us to catch up and allows our kiddos to make exciting memories together.

Customize your own digital collage

Manzanita Trip 2011 - Part 1

2011-08-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Vacationing in Manzanita has been a part of our relationship from the very beginning in 2000. Over the past 11 years we have made many trips down together, brought along dear friends and made several trips with our wonderful families. Through these trips silly little things have been established as tradition, like stops for Tilamook ice cream (typically something fruity for Kevin and either something chocolaty or sometimes bubble gum for me), visiting the Blue Heron Cheese Co.(originally for the wine and cheese and now for the petting zoo), crab dinners (the fresher the better), salt water taffy (from The Candy Man), and even indulging in a tasty snack of (albeit artery clogging) Con Queso and chips. What pleasure it now brings us to share these traditions and continue making more with our children.

While standing on the beach watching my incredible husband play with our little sweeties, I experienced a flashback of a long walk we once took on Manzanita beach when we were newly engaged, excitedly dreaming of our future together. We painted this cute little picture of coming to the beach with our own children and all of the fun that would be had, only to get to look up and see this playing out before my very eyes. SO AMAZING!!

This trip we had Grandma & Grandpa Stevens and G.G. & Papa Bob join us for our first few days. It was Janie's first trip (special that she started to crawl at the beach house) and Clara is at such a great age to explore and enjoy the beach.

On our first trip down to the actual beach, Janie was asleep in her carrier the whole time. The next trip we were so excited to see her reaction to the sand, with fond memories of Clara's delight during her first time. I guess we must have pushed back her nap a little too far, because we set her down and she started to cry. Poor baby! We tried again the next day and it didn't take her long to figure out that she loves it as much as the rest of us.

We took so many photos during our trip, that the only way to share a fraction of them was to make a Smilebox.

This picture collage generated with Smilebox

More of Gem's new tricks

2011-08-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

She's a Crawler!!!

2011-08-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

July 30, 2011

Something about being at the beach house was all it took to pique J-Bug's curiosity enough to get her crawling. Maybe it was the long car ride, maybe the lack of proper child-safety precautions that intrigued her, or maybe it was just always having a audience since we were joined by Grandma & Grandpa Stevens and G.G. & Papa Bob, but from the moment we set her down after our arrival in Manzanita, she started moving around. At first it was more of the scooting and lunging movement. She had been doing this at home, but not nearly as quickly. Then it morphed into a bear crawl or shuffle with one leg still turned in for 2 strides, but she would chicken out and end up back on her bum.

When she finally put the pieces together and got her arms and legs synchronized, I really couldn't believe my eyes. She has been teasing us for so long ALMOST crawling.

Now, it was clear that it was not always her favorite thing to do because there were lots of whines and screeches, but boy was this kiddo determined. It seemed that the spiky ball and her little car were the two toys that seemed to really get her going.

By the end of the day, she was getting across the large master bedroom of the beach house. She knew she was doing something pretty special and Daddy, Clara and Mommy are all her biggest fans!
So proud of you Janie Caroline! Now the real fun begins trying to keep you corralled!

Taylor & Clara

2011-07-24T23:27:00.001-07:00

These girls have SO much fun together! Clara's love for Taylor Alain is almost obsessive! Clara recently got to stay with Grandma & Grandpa Stevens for a few days and was so excited to spend time with Taylor. Together the girls got go to the Hand On Museum, a Caspar Babypants concert, several trips to G.G. & Papa Bob's and lots of fun play at Grandma Jan's house. How neat to have a cousin so close in age to make so many wonderful memories with! Lucky girls, the both of them!

Somebody found a new way to cause trouble!

2011-07-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Our Gem Baby at 10 months!

2011-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

10 MONTHS, Oh My!!! Our cutie patootie is changing so much every day! The past month has been incredibly fun. It feels like every day she shows us a new skill she has picked up or starts using a new word. The little baby phase is gone and now she is an interactive kiddo. So very bittersweet for Daddy & Mommy!

The biggest change we notice in Janie this month has to be her talking. Besides "Ma-ma" and "Da-da" she seems to have bypassed the small words and jumped right into phrases like "Peek-a-boo", "tickle, tickle", "Uh-Oh" , "Oh wow", "So big" and "Round and round" (Her favorite song seems to be Wheels on the Bus). Of course, she does the little actions that go along with them and we just melt. Even the "Uh-Oh" after dropping things on the ground which can get old fast. That may be Jane Bug's favorite game because Clara is so good at getting her the dropped toy long after Mommy or Daddy have given up. What a great sister!

While coming so darn close, Janie is not quite crawling. She often gets up in the crawling position, even makes a wobbly stride or two forward before going down to her tummy. She has mastered getting around with her rolls and small scoots from her touche. Janie is a little resistant to turning her leg straight (like above) when she gets on all fours, and it seems that she uses this as her safety net and will just quickly rock back to sitting on her bottom when she feels unsure. Just recently she seems to start being discontent with this type of mobility and has made more attempts at crawling. I have a feeling that she'll be on the go in a few days time!
Ten months is such a fun age! We enjoyed it with Clara and are loving the experience all over again with our Janie Caroline. Recently, Clara spent some time with Grandma & Grandpa Stevens, allowing Mommy & Daddy to enjoy one-on-one time with Jane Bug - what a treat! This kid LOVES to play and seems so coach-able with new activities. We would model an activity (like putting blocks in and out of a sorting container) and within no time she would be doing it independently. Such a reminder of how incredible their little brains are!

Our time with just our Janie felt so calm, quiet and easy after trying to entertain and care for both kids. Janie is a pretty flexible kiddo when it comes to being on the go. She does well in a restaurant, likes going shopping or riding in a stroller, so we took advantage of this a few days and also spent a few days just laying on the floor playing with her all evening. {{Taking in all of the sweet baby-ness - AHHHH!}} So often with 2 kids, we have to tag-team the girls in order to get through our feeding/bath/bedtime routines and our little Bug has had much less undivided attention from both parents at once that Clara. Lil' Gem ate it up and it was great to be able to give her a good dose of it!

Janie is such a lovey child. If she had it her way, she would be held all day long. She likes to play from our lap or directly in front of us, and if we have to step away, it won't take her long to start making her calling sounds to call us back.

Janie has made some big strides with the bottle (taking at least one a day (of formula!!)) and with sleep. She has gotten so much easier to get to go to sleep. She rarely fights going down, especially for her naps. Having her binkie and her soft blanket have become key and we can put her down awake and she'll be asleep in minutes. For a few days, this new routine was not working, but it ended up that sweet Janie caught a cold that seemed to make it tough for her to sleep on her back. We figured out that sleeping in her swing or car seat worked best and once she got the rest, our little gal really was a trooper, sharing many runny-nose and weepy eyed smiles. Janie still like to nurse at night and we tried some sleep training (so hard to hear her cry) while Clara was at Grandma's. She sleeps through the night more frequently now, but we are still not at 100% success.

Our little gal seems to always wake up happy. After waking, she calls our a few times and waits. We can hear her pushing buttons on her Lights and Sounds toy or bouncing/rolling around. When we walk in she often shrieks in delight or seems to say "Hi!" Now at this point, if we have to walk away, or don't immediately pick her up, the happiness shifts to anger quite quickly. She responds similarly, if she thinks she is going to eat and then mom has to grab something and makes her wait just a few more seconds... Oh boy, we are in for it!!!

Janie loves to feed herself. She has just the one tooth, but it has come in quite a bit and looks absolutely adorable in her little grin. We have added lots of new foods this month in itty-bitty tiny pieces on her high chair tray and all of them, with the exception of those that get smashed in her hair, hang of her face or find their way down the side of her high chair, get eaten. Different colors or textures, this kid seems to like it all! Let' s hope it stays that way!

It doesn't seem like it could be possible, but Mommy started getting some of our girls baby clothes organized for a garage sale and Daddy took apart the bassinet for storage (it had become a storage place for baby stuff in our bedroom for the past few months). We are even getting ready to move her out into a bigger car seat. These tasks seem even harder the second time around. It is a good thing that these happy smiles and sweet giggles are the best medicine for those tough moments!

Swimming with Cousins

2011-07-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Sometime priceless happy moments can come out of tough times! This past year Grandpa Murray has had some scary health concerns which has ended up as cancer in his kidney. While a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for those of us who love him, we have enjoyed our extra trips to Quincy to visit him and the rest of the family.

The day that he had his kidney removed, Daddy had to be at the hospita, so Mommy, Clara & Janie spent a fun day with Hailey, Taylor and Zane.

This trip, our little Gem was not as enthusiastic about being in the water as she had previously been, but Clara Natalie enjoyed riding on this floaty and having her sweet cousins pull her around. She had so much fun and can't wait to go back.

We feel so blessed that Grandpa Murray is healing well, so hopefully our next trip over will just be pure fun for everyone!

Highlands Day

2011-07-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

This year, with the opening of the new Swedish hospital right in our neighborhood, our quaint little Highlands Day, usual headed up by the church that meets in our community center and a few local vendors had a completely different feel. We took a shuttle bus from the elementary school and got stuck in a mini traffic jam on Highlands Drive. They estimated that over 22,000 people attended to check out the beautiful, almost a little too resort feeling, hospital and the little street fair in the parking lot. We intended to go for just a little bit, but ended up getting Janie to take a nap in the stroller and enjoyed a nice day in our community.

Right away, Clara was greeted by this big dog,named "Scout" who gave her a little stuffed version of himself.

Later on in the tour, when we were in the ER, they had several rooms devoted to health care for the stuffed friends all the kids brought along. Fun! This little dog wasn't the only stuffed toy our Scout toted home. Kids were given a passport as we entered the hospital to get stamped in 12 locations taking us on a tour of the entire 5 floors. When they turned it in, they received a small sized Build-a-Bear in a Swedish t-shirt.

Craftin'

The day with filled with tons of activities for Clara! It was such a whirlwind, I don't think she could keep it all straight!

Balance training with a PT in the rehabilitation wing -she won Papa Mark a hat!

Getting a finger cast that she later decorated into a finger puppet!

After our LONG tour we headed outside for some lunch on the lawn from our local restaurants. Janie enjoyed her cracker!
Snow Cones!

Mommy's treat was getting to meet her all-time favorite Mariner, John Olerud!

Outside there were bounce houses, carnival games and prizes all over. A hay day for Clara. She tried her hand at Operation for the first time.
And she was quick to spot a lollipop at one of the booths.

While Highlands Day will seem a little boring in the years to come after this year, we ran into some friends and had some amazing family fun! Yee Haw!

The newest addition...

2011-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

BELLE

The newest addition to the princess family in the Michael household! We picked up this beautiful gown during our first trip to the new Disney store at Bell Square Mall. Scout is one happy little princess!

Hometown 4th of July

2011-07-19T23:23:00.001-07:00

This 4th of July we stayed home and enjoyed the fun festivities in our own community. We started the day at the parade downtown Issaquah.

Clara loved watching the kids and running to get the candy.

Daddy & his patriotic sweeties!

Adorable

Clara with her friend, Kylie

After the parade we enjoyed the community activities. Heck with the pony rides, face painting and bounce houses, Clara was most interested in the ones that involved eating

She enjoyed running into her pals (above with Amelia)

Hugging on Ava

Before we left we hit up the playground and watched part of a reptile show.

Janie's first 4th of July!

We spent the afternoon in Dahlia Park with a few neighbors. The kids ran off their Popsicles together - We feel so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood. That evening we listened to the nearby fireworks and enjoyed a great BBQ dinner. A nice relaxing evening! We may just have to make sticking around town for the 4th of July a family tradition.

Patriotic Darlings

Lake Union Boat Ride

2011-07-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to be invited to go for an electric boat ride with our friends Peter, Christina and Jackson the day before the 4th of July. Following suit with the rest of this crazy Washington summer, it wasn't a warm July day, but the sun peeked out a few times and we had a great time!

All the kiddos on the boat

Clara had fun as Captain Peter's deck hand.

After our fun in the boat, we headed to Ivar's for a yummy lunch.

And Kevin & I took the group to a nearby park that we would picnic at during our college years.
Daddy & Clara playing in the water

Happy Kiddo!

Jackson & Janie

What a cute little guy he is! And what a great way to spend the day!

Playgroup Carnival

2011-07-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful year with the Highlands Playgroup. Clara and I have been attending since she was 81/2 months old and Janie started coming when she was around 4 weeks old. We have met so many wonderful friends and had a lot of great opportunities through this group. To celebrate the end of the year, some of the moms organized this wonderful carnival. So much fun!!

Clara with our wonderful friend and playgroup organizer, Alicia

Enjoying some treats with pals

Pin the tail on the monkey

Parachute

Clara & Nico

Popcorn and Playgroup Highlight Video

Sweet sisters!

We were thrilled to learn that the group decided to change dates, so it will no longer conflict with Scout's preschool in the fall and we can continue to be a part of the group!