Snacking in the flowers
Mommy & Daddy on a mini date - beer tasting!
Enjoying a cracker!
Lunch at Country Cousin with Grandma & Grandpa Swanson - notice the little Clara Dog!
Scout, mesmerized by the talking mirrors in the Disney store.
Super Daddy!
Sisterly love!
Clara is getting better at riding Daddy's 30 year old tractor. It requires strong legs!
We went on a fun hike recently with some friends from the Issaquah Mom's Group. The trail was perfect for three year olds and the weather cooperated that morning so we enjoyed the outdoors as much as possible. 
photos taken by Renata Jirka
For our Lil' Scout, it doesn't get any better than getting to play dress up with pals! 
At nine months old, our sweet Janie is such a love bug! She is playing "clappy-clappy" all of the time and has figured out what songs we clap during and always celebrates a song with a clap at the end at playgroup. It is fascinating the things that the little ones just pick up on from being around other kids!Instead of being a mover, Janie is already a talker. Even the pediatrician mentioned that she appears advanced with her repertoire of sounds, responses to cues, and use of signs. A talker, in this family?... no way! Right now she consistently uses the sign for milk, food, more, and waves bye-bye. Her words (Ma-Ma, Da-Da, Aw-wa (Clara)) are sounding more clear. Of course it could have just been a fluke, but she repeated the word cracker so clearly in the car the other day. The cutest thing she consistently says is "Oh Wow!" After we noticed Janie say it, I started to realize how many times I say that a day (with a variety of inflections and tones) so it is really no surprise it will go down as our little gals first phrase. While last month "Ma-Ma" was her most popular word, "Da-Da" has taken over that slot - this may be reflective of her new infatuation with Daddy!
When Kevin comes home in the evenings, Janie just starts screeching and bouncing. She has been a Mama's girl for so long, but now is following in Big Sister's trail and has become a Daddy's Girl, too! Of course Daddy eats this up! It is adorable!
Janie's sense of humor is coming through is some really sweet ways. She still loves peek-a-boo and gives the silliest smirks when she peeks out from under her blanket. She thinks it is funny to give Mommy tastes of her crackers and shares her pacifier. She thinks Clara is about the funniest thing and the two of them can go on laughing at the simplest think, like a sneeze, forever! Absolutely heartwarming!
Janie has started to eat more finger foods. She enjoys small pieces of fruits and veggies and LOVES her baby snacks. She just has to see the container and she starts whining to have some treats. So far she seems to like all that we have presented. She has even warmed up a little to formula. Mommy tricked her into it by putting some formula/oatmeal cereal in all of her other foods to get her used to the taste. After weeks of presenting formula in a bottle, she finally decided to drink it! SUCCESS!! Of course, she makes it clear she is still a boob baby, but having this as a back up option feels great for Mommy!
Getting our Lil' Gem to sit still and have her photo taken is proving a little more challenging than before. Admittedly, a little sad for Mom because I love dressing her up and posing her for photos, but now she is a lot more wiggly trying to stand up or lunge for something that catches her eye. And determined! Once she sees something she wants she does whatever she can to get to it. After this month, we both feel like we have a better sense of our little girl's spunky personality, and if even possible, are falling in love even more.
We spent Father's Day in Qunicy this year. Auntie Amy and Uncle Elmer hosted a BBQ for the family. Kevin's Uncle Mike was in town from San Francisco, so it was a great opportunity to visit with him as well. The big hit of the day with both of our girls was swimming in the pool with Daddy.
Grandma Carol bought the girls different flotation devices so they were set for a day of water fun. Clara was fearless and wanted to go down the slide right away. She put on her water wings, used her Dora kick board or a pool noodle and went all over the pool with Daddy, Mommy and even Cousin Ashley.
This baby floaty is awesome. Janie Bug kicked her legs and had a big smile on her face the whole time!
Practicing swimming with Daddy!
Here in Issaquah, we take our Salmon pretty seriously. There are restaurants named after Salmon, artists that create salmon art and even a weekend festival called Salmon Days. The salmon hatchery is located right downtown and so when they offered a pre-school salmon class we jumped on the opportunity to participate with the Mom's group.
What a fun time Clara had with the other children learning about fish!
Getting ready to feed the trout that are raised this time of year.
Working on a craft. This one she decided was for Papa Murray
Using a microscope for the first time to look at a fish fin. 
Another craft... this time for Papa Mark
Story time. Most of the kiddos in the group were closer to 4 and it was obvious had had more experience in a school-type setting. At first she sat right down "cris-cross applesauce" as she was instructed, but she didn't stay that way long. Also, they were asked to raise their hand to speak. Well, our little Scout did raise her hand while she blurted out her responses. It was pretty cute! 
Janie spent the whole time riding along in the Bjorn carrier happy as a clam. Renata, another mom from the group, snapped this adorable photo of her!
This has been a hard spring season in the Pacific Northwest so far in that it has been unseasonably cold. There have been some warm days, but they have been surrounded by cool, sometimes even flat out cold, rainy days. For that reason, when it isn't cold, we have been trying to get out as much as possible. We also have to have back-up plans in case it starts pouring. This Sunday, Kevin needed a little time off his super hectic work schedule so we picked some things up from QFC and headed to a local park.
Janie liked having her picnic meal. 
She even wanted to feed herself
Clara went right for the big toy, climbed up top and started her imaginary play. The second another child would enter the play area, she immediately would greet them and ask them to play with her.
Clara followed. She has become a lot more fearless in the last few weeks. She no longer appears fearful of climbing up high and big slides.
Miss Janie Bug loves to swing! She giggles when the air rushes against her face and it is so darn adorable. This trip, Clara didn't seem all that interested in the swings which is another recent change.
