The Flower Girl and the Christmas Tree

Helping Daddy cut down the tree. "Good job Daddy! You can do it!"

Timber!!!
Decorating the ceramic Christmas tree at Grammy & Papa's

The finished product!

The only snow we found in Sunriver. In the driveway of the rental house.

Flower Girl with Toby the Ring Bearer dog.

Cheese!!

December 1st

December 1st marks the official start of the Christmas season. At least in my family's book it does. No Christmas talk until after Mom's birthday (Nov. 30).

So what did I do when I got into work today? Cranked up the Christmas music of course!

John Denver and the Muppets? Check!!
Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong cd? Check!
Martina McBride's Christmas stuff? Check and check!

I've heard the "Christmas is Coming" Muppet song about 14 times by now, and I'm still loving it. Are my coworkers enjoying my singing? Probably not. Oh well. It's only for about 3 weeks or so. I've got my hot chocolate and plenty of Andes Mints to stir in. Mmm!

My next hurdle is Christmas shopping. I don't know if you know, but I'm starting school on Dec 12th. It's night school. That doesn't leave much room for shopping. There are a few things that I'll be sewing/creating on my own (yikes!), but times is running out very quickly to get those wrapped up (pun intended).

This weekend is supposed to be nice, sunny and crisp. With highs in the upper 40's, it won't necessarily be warm, but it will be great weather to get those Christmas lights up! We probably won't see weather like this again until June. Better take advantage of it. Besides, who want's to put Christmas lights up in June?

I can't wait to take Lily and go hunt down that perfect Christmas Tree. You know, that one that has that beam of sunshine shining down while the angels sing "Aaaahhhhhhh". Yeah, that one. Can't wait to find it!

What traditions are you looking foward to this Christmas?

Crayons and Scrubbing

Last night my little girl learned a valuable lesson on how to clean crayon off the walls.

She was sitting at her picnic table innocently coloring her pages (so I thought). I was cozy on the couch watching whatever I was watching. A familiar "scratch scratch" got me up off the couch and into the dining room to inspect the damage.

I decided to test out the stuff we learned in our Love and Logic classes that we've been taking.

First, she had to sit on the stairs (her timeout spot) for a minute or two. Then I told her that she's going to have to figure out how to clean the crayon off the wall.

Her first idea (a dry paper towel) didnt work. So what's better than a dry paper towel? A wet paper towel! Nope, didnt work. We even tried the Green Works cleaner. Honestly, I think the dry paper towel may have had a better effect.

The next plan was for her to call Grammy and ask her if she knew how to get crayon off the walls. I dialed Grammy, put it on speaker and let Lily do the talking (with a little prompting). Grammy gave her a suggestion, and she proceeded to scrub the crayon off the walls (Mommy helped a little).

I think it worked. Even though I think she kind of enjoyed figuring out how to fix this, she learned some lessons.

I mentioned it again this morning and asked her what she learned from the experience and she said "Don't color on the walls, or you have to scrub, scrub, scrub!"

Success? In my opinion, yes!

5 Years

5 Years ago, I married this crazy, kooky guy. We've had quite the adventure together so far.

I've been blessed to have him in my life. He's an amazing husband.

And a fantastic father to our beautiful little girl.

I wouldn't have it any other way. Here's to many many MANY more! I love you!

Happy Halloween!

Lily has been talking about how she's going to be a kitty for Halloween for the past week or two. She's been so excited. Especially since it was her first Halloween all over again.

Honestly, those first couple Halloweens don't count. You know, those ones where the parent carries around a baby in an oversized lobster or something and the kid just becomes an accessory to the parent's costume?

So she was really excited when she got to have makeup AND ears on. At the same time! She really did turn out to be the cutest kitty of all time. (Not biased. Nope. Not at all.)

We went downtown Newberg to Trick or Treat on First Street. We got there right at 5pm, right when it started. I wanted to try as hard as possible to miss out on the big crowds that seem to accumulate as the night wears on.

We all ended up wearing black and drawing whiskers on our faces. One of us had a little more fun with the makeup than the other two (girls) did. But we won't linger on that.


It didn't take long for Miss Lily to get into the Halloween spirit. The first couple stops, they got a tight-lipped shake of the head when we said "Say Trick or Treat!". But she quickly caught on that if she said the magic words, she'd get candy, candy and more candy. We went home with a grocery bag full of candy, mini pumpkins, glow bracelets, and stickers.

Next stop was the church's Harvest Party. We chowed down on hot dogs, chips, and grape Koolaid. There were games, bouncy houses, and a cake walk (which she won).

There was a special section for kids under 6 that had slides and other fun things to play on. We had a hard time peeling her away from the slides to do some more trick-or-treating around the church.

This kid will not be lacking in candy for the next couple of months. Yay for potty training treats!

Hope you all had a great Halloween! We sure did!

The Dentist

I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. Yuck.

I was a regular at the dentist when I was younger along with a 4 year stint as an orthodontic patient. I've had the pleasure of having my molars sealed, a tooth capped, a bridge, and the occasional filling. I can tell you that the dentist is not my favorite place to hang out. Spending the day being saggy faced, drooling and numb up to your eyeball is not my idea of a fun time. In my opinion, it's a necessary evil.

While I wasn't really one of those kids that grew up knowing what they want to do with their life (heck, I still don't know!), but I can tell you this. Being a dentist was NOT on my list of to-do's. Now I know we need dentists, and that they are a vital part of our healthcare. But there's something a little morbid about waking up one day and deciding that you want to spend your working days digging crap out from between peoples teeth, shoving giant needles into people gums, and smelling that ground teeth smell. Not really a career path I would chose. Some people love it (you'd have to to stick with it), and that's great! Hats off to those guys!

We're also coming up on that time when Lily is going to need to go to the dentist for her first ever check up. I've heard raving reviews about the kids dentist in Sherwood, something about a Wii in their waiting room and toys galore. I remember being super young and loving going to the dentist. Those flouride trays with the orange creamsicle-flavored foamy stuff? Yes please! Remember the sucker thing? Remember how if you breathed in just right, you could get it to make the most fantastic pig noise? I can only hope and pray that Lily sees the dentist as a fun time. Hopefully she will be on the "No Cavities Wall" (if they have one) as I was as a kid. There was no greater joy than being able to give the dentist's assistant a bright and shining smile for a picture after the Dentist has declared you officially cavity free.

But something happened when I got older. I always brushed my teeth (still do, ha), thought I took good care of them. But for some reason, I started to have issues. There was even a point where I had to have a gum graft because my gums were receding so much. I'll spare you the gorey details, but I can tell you this: that post-braces retainer came in really handy for protecting the stitches on the roof of my mouth!

And now, with this whole being grown-up thing, there has been a new issue. Turns out going to the dentist is expensive! And there's a little thing called dental insurance. I don't get it through my work. However, Jesus' employer offers it, and we've been able to put us all on it. So no more excuses. I gotta go. Gotta do it. Boo.

So wish me luck tomorrow as I sit there with my mouth gaping open for the whole world to see. It's not going to be a pretty visit, I can tell you that. But I'll feel so much better with bright shiny, freshly and professionally cleaned teeth.

Bike Riding

The rain decided to let up a little bit this weekend, so Lily was more than excited to wear her new "helmet for her head" and hop on her bike. We raised her seat a little bit, and she's scooting along like a pro.

There's a good chance that this could be the last bike ride of the year.

Fall is Here!

It's raining. It's 60 degrees and I'm okay with that. Don't get me wrong, I love summer. I love the sunshine, the long days. But with those first fall days comes a sense of coziness. Those days when I can pull out and dust off my much loved sweaters is one of my favorite times of the year. Along with about 500 other favorite times, of course. I can finally see out my dining room window again because the air condition and the large board that blocks the window is long gone. I can light candles without the wind from the fan blowing on them and making them burn crooked. I can make dinner on the stovetop and not have to strip down as much as possible to survive the extra heat. I can make soup again!

But along with these nice cool, rainy fall days has come those dreaded "Terrible Two's". Man, I swear Little Miss was the sweetest little girl, always up for a hug or a kiss, always saying "I love you Mommy" then BAM! Sweet Little Miss is sweet no longer. Sure there are still times where she's just a doll, and I'm almost positive that those moments outnumber the bad, but holy cow! She has discovered an independent streak within herself.

"Lily, please eat 2 more bites of burger." "NO! I don't WANT to eat more burger!" Cue pounding of hand on table. "Mommy put my shoes on RIGHT NOW!" Cue pounding of hand on couch. Lily, I need to go to work, I'll see you later." "NO! You don't WANT to go to work!" Cue hand gesture midair. (okay, she's got that one correct, I'd MUCH rather stay home with her. But I also like having a roof over our heads). Where did she get this demanding, independent little attitude? **looks around** Anybody? (No comments Mom!)

Thursday we start the Love and Logic Parenting class at our church. It couldn't have come at a better time, in my opinion! I'm excited to start, to hear that our kid isnt the only one that is going through/went through this stage. I'm excited to hear new strategies for nipping this newfound attitude, because let's face it, mine aren't working out so hot.

But even with all that sassiness, my kiddo is the most perfect kid in my world. I love that little girl more than words. And honestly, wouldn't life be boring without a little bit of attitude here and there? At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself...

Fun in the Sun

Since it has been so hot lately, we've been spending a little more time at Wilsonville Memorial Park.

Notice there is one (ONE!) kid in the background. Ok, granted it was about 10:30am, but it was still at least in the 80's. It was great! We also remembered to bring a cup for Lily to play with in the water. Last time, she really wanted to play with the other kids' cups, buckets, whatever. I highly suggest bringing a cup or something to play in the water with. She just used the cup from her Dutch Bros. "smoovie".

There have been some days where we couldn't go all the way to Wilsonville just to play in the water, so we made our own fountain. Our first attempt with the old sprinkler failed as it was cracked and broken and just shot water out the end. Not very conducive to sprinkler running.

So after a quick trip to Fred's, we got it set up and were off and running.

And running...

And running.

Birthday Party! Yay!

Lily's second birthday and party was a success. She got a new kitchen from Grammy & Papa so of course she needed new cookware. (I'm still getting "'paghetti" every night for "dinner")
Then it was time to make/decorate the cake. Lily was a huge help.

Finished product #1

Finished Product #2

(ignore the fingerprints in the frosting)

(and ignore the letter special-ness. The frosting was too warm and melty to cooperate. But it still tasted pretty dang good!)

After we finished up the cake, we tried to find Daddy, but he was nowhere to be found. Neither were my flip-flops.

Found him!

Finally got her to sit still long enough for a picture. Of course, she can't look at the camera, why would she want to do that?? That'd be silly!

Oh, I was wrong. She sat still one other time. When she was waiting for me to bring out her presents.

She really got into the opening presents thing.

(And she loves her "golfball" game! Thanks Jason, Patty & Lauren!!)

And of course, Uncle Oscar had to buy her a real Seahawks jersey. It'll make a great nightgown until she's about 12.

All in all, we had a very successful party for a very popular 2 year old. I guesstimated that there were over 30 people in our little house helping us celebrate her birthday. And they did a great job!

Ack!

I'm failing already! New post tomorrow! Promise!

In the mean time:

Happy Birthday Liliana!

Friday was Lily's big #2! No, not that #2. But she'd get an M&M for that!

I can't believe my baby is 2. Wasn't she just born? Wasn't I just leaving the hospital yesterday with a tiny little life?

Well now that tiny little life is a little bit bigger, goofier, and an amazing little smarty-pants.



She obviously takes after her mom in the cuteness department, dontcha think?

We filled her room with balloons on Thursday night after she went to bed. Scared her when she woke up. Oops! This is after she decided that the balloons were okay and fun to play with.


Then we went to Memorial Park in Wilsonville to play in their awesome water feature. If you havent been there and you have kids, go there. Take them. They'll sleep well.




Grammy & Papa got her a new kitchen for her birthday. We gave it to her on Saturday before her party. She loves it. I get dinner made for me every night. A little plasticky though...

I think she's trying to cool off in the fridge.


I haven't been able to download party pictures yet, but there arent many. Our awesome camera sat on the charger all day to be ready, then when it's big moment came, it freaked and said the battery was dead. What a drama camera.

I'll post those later.

Lily did get to play with her new fingerpaints last night. A little messy and kind of stinky. They smelled like pumpkin? But she had fun and the paints didnt stain the table (Love that!). That's what matters.

This whole birthday/party stuff really wore Chica out. I think she might still be passed out.

Second Birthday Resolution

Yes, I realize I'm a slacker and that I havent written a post in about 9 months (though the latest post doesnt really count, so it's really been over a year!). I'm going to make a new resolution to post at least once a week starting now. Won't be so easy since our laptop died and that's my only connection to the online world other than my phone. Have you ever tried to write more than a sentence or 2 on your phone? Yeah, not going to happen.

In other news...

My spunky, punk of a kid will turn 2 (yes, 2!!) tomorrow. Where has the time gone? Wasn't she just born?

And being the slackers that Jesus and I are, we've just now decided to start planning her birthday party. Tonight. Yes, her party is on Saturday. Yes, we'll get something figured out. Kiddie pool anyone?

I already invited everybody, that's the important part, right? See, I was thinking ahead!

Hopefully Jesus' parents will just decide to make a big, yummy, Mexican meal and we'll call it good.

I'm taking tomorrow off and since Jesus doesn't work on Fridays, we're planning to take her somewhere fun for her birthday tomorrow. We have a couple of ideas, but nothing in stone yet.

Here are our ideas:

Zoo

Water Park in Wilsonville

Water Park in McMinnville

The end

Anybody got any other ideas/suggestions?