Milestones

Our kiddos are growing up! In just one short week in Illinois, Nate cut a tooth, started crawling, pulling up, and cruising. Yikes! This kid doesn't mess around! Now the little daredevil is practicing his skills by using me to stand up and then promptly letting go. He ultimately falls within a few seconds, but he does it again and again, laughing the whole way through. It's just a matter of days now that we'll have another little toddler on our hands.

Sophia had a big week as well. She had her first dentist appointment (with the best dentist in the world -- Aunt Elli Emmons). I'm proud to say that my little girl is part of the "No Cavity Club"! She's very proud of herself as well. She'll be 3 next month and will start preschool on October 1st!

Still recovering from our wonderful vacation. Dan is in L.A. for work so maybe next week we'll get a little relaxation in. Life is good! (No pics available at the moment, but I'll post some new ones soon.)

What the????

Ok, so we have 2 things to report. The 1st thing is completely normal and expected. Nate is a butt hair away from pulling up to standing. I went in to change his diaper a couple nights ago and he was sitting up in his crib. Needless to say, I lowered the crib mattress yesterday...you know, so he won't climb over and fall on his cranium.

The 2nd thing I have to report is that our daughter, who is 34 months old, is cutting two front teeth!!!!
We thought she was missing them since they didn't come in with the others when she was much younger. Yesterday, Meg noticed them coming in! Sweet, huh? I had visions of my daughter wearing a bridge or some such thing. She has an appt to see her Dentist (my wonderful sister, Elli Emmons) next week. Hopefully all else is in good shape, too.

OK, we'll post more pics and some video of Nate pulling up soon.

Pics

Nate is 8 Months Old!

Our little man is 8 months old today. I honestly can't believe it. He's trying harder than ever to crawl. At this point, he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth until his chubby little arms give out on him and he does a face plant into the carpet. He's still as happy as ever -- just a sweet, loving little guy. Sophia is a proud big sis. I told her this morning that it was a big day for Nate and I promptly heard her run to daddy and say "Daddy, Daddy, Nate is 8 months old!!!" She loves her little brother and he absolutely adores her. We returned from an awesome camping trip this past weekend. We camped on the Santiam River. The weather was gorgeous and the water was chilly, but refreshing. Went on lots of hikes, played frisbee and football, splashed in the river and roasted marshmallows. Although Sophia proclaimed at the end of the trip that she doesn't like camping, she appeared to have a wonderful time. Ahhhh...the joys of parenting an almost 3-year-old :-). Pics to follow....

Baking a Wish

Recently, Meg and I were shopping Craig's List for a back pack child carrier for Sophia/Nate. We came across an ad for a nice Kelty carrier for sale from a woman in Salem. In the process of purchasing this item, Megan got to know the seller pretty well. Her name is Wendy - she and her family are current organizing several fund raisers to send her son, who has Asperger's Syndrome, on a southern California trip. Her blog is www.bakingawish.blogspot.com. She shares her and her son's story, info on fund raisers, and valuable insight on Asperger's syndrome. Take a look when you have minute. It's a good cause and she and her family are good people. If you click on the google ads, a little money is contributed to the fund raiser. We are looking forward to being a part of Wendy's cause and getting to know her and her family better. It is always refreshing to have these experiences. We love that we have been exposed to such a nice family purely by chance. I have added her blog to my "cool links" section below. ENJOY!

Sophia and Nate. Sophia is a ham. Nate is a big boy - he is starting to give kisses and he is clapping. He better be a smart child - what with that large cranium. Heh.

Fathers Day

We took the kids to Silver Falls on a nice bike ride/hike on Fathers Day. Of course, that was last month, much has happened since then. We had a nice visit from the Barone's of Lakewood California. They came and spent the 4th with us in Silverton. Sophia loved playing with her "new best friend" Karrina and her little bro Gavin.
TOmorrow we embark on our 1st camping trip of the summer to Fishermen's Bend next to the Santiam River near Detroit Lake. Our site is 30 yards from the river's edge - you can hear the rapids from the site. Sophia is really excited. We got her water shoes and a new PeaPod tent bed (since Nate will be in the Pack-n-play. It's going to be fun. We're going with Grammy Donna and the Eggerts. Matt will make his famous hobo stew and I will make Soyrizo and eggs for breakfast. Yay!

I'll be uploading a bunch of pics from the Barone visit and Kaplan/Wada/Eggert camping trip soon. TAKE CARE!!!