A Few More...

Brooke's throwing skills are getting better! One time Maisy even caught it!

The first taste of marshmallow. What a milestone!

Reading is one of our favorite things to do.

If you catch him in the right mood, he'll give you a great big grin!

Summer is Coming (?)

With unseasonably cold and wet weather, we have taken advantage of the clear and warmer weather when it happens. It may only be a few hours, so you have to be quick about it!

Kent set his tent up and Brooke had the best time playing in it. She ran inside to get a book to read in there. It'll be a nice place to play when we get those really hot days and we are looking for some shade.

One of her favorite activities is playing with water toys. Add a container of water and you have fun for hours!

It was a night of hot dogs, smores, and a fire in our backyard. If this can't signal summer, I don't know what will!

Oliver is sure growing! Here he is with Auntie Caitlin.

Just Because

Brooke loves Auntie Caitlin's house. The main attraction is Caitlin's dog Maisy who makes her laugh so much! With my mom staying there for a while, she really likes to go and visit. One of her favorite places is the front yard with the path and fence.

She runs down the path and sits at the end with her back to the fence. She sings her songs, reads books, and who knows what else!


Grandpa Wally is wondering where all her overalls are but I gotta say... she looks so cute in dresses!

8 Mile Lake Hike

Mom, Kent, Brooke, Oliver and I set out on a great hike today! We drove out the Icicle Road and hiked the 8 Mile Lake Trail. It's a nice climb and eight total miles. What made it more challenging is that they had not cleared all the logs yet! Kent climbed over most of them since he had Brooke on his back and we did our best climbing under!

I tried Oliver in the Ergo front pack with his legs tucked up inside and it worked great. I added two small blankets inside and he slept the whole way.

This trail seems like the I-5 of hiking in this area. We passed LOTS of people and played tag with a nice group of hikers. It's hard to see by the photo above, but we met three really nice Japanese guys (too bad Caitlin was not along!). They had minimal English but were so friendly and nice to chat briefly with. They had the funkiest Northface gear on! BRIGHT colors! They said, "You like? Wild!" The guy in front had very colorful pants and the guy in the rear had a bright hat on and shoes that matched. Who knew Northface made that kind of stuff! Mom especially thought it was great. She said they are very fashionable, I would have to disagree! :)

Brooke loves to go on hikes. She was sitting in the hiking backpack in anticipation this morning as we were getting it ready. When she got a little tired/whiny we would sing songs and rounds that kept her entertained. After the lunch break she got to try hiking out on her own. As you can see, she LOVED it. A few small falls, but we let it happen because it was a safe place. It's an important thing to learn!

This was the view of the lake! In a few weeks I'm sure all that ice will be gone. What a beautiful place!

Oliver: One Month Old

Here we go again with the monthly updates! Once Brooke hits two I think we'll plan on just keeping his going! Oliver is a wonderful little guy. He's growing so much every day that I don't feel I'll need a gym membership for a long time. He's still pretty content and easy going. No swaddling, pacifier and white noise that we needed with his older sister. Sleeps pretty well at night although sometimes he decides that he's not falling asleep until 11:30pm... but that's okay. I guess the most significant changes in him over this month is the weight gain (he's 9 pounds 5 ounces), hair loss (yes, male pattern baldness), better head control and the ability to track objects with his eyes. He LOVES the Mr. Whoozit toy held over his head and our light fixture in the living room. I'm enjoying every minute of having a baby again. There is so much to having a baby that I absolutely love. I feel that adding one more has it's HUGE challenges (especially with a toddler under two years old) but it's totally worth it!

Doctor Visit

I just can't get enough of his small hands and feet. They only stay small for such a short amount of time.

Oliver met Dr. Eisert today. Oliver weighed in at 9 pounds 5 ounces! I figured out that he has gained two ounces every day since his nine day check up! He's a good little eater, that's for sure. Brooke weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces at her two month check up. They are two different little kids in size and personality. I wanted Dr. Eisert to take a look at his eyes. They are still yellow from his slight case of jaundice. He recommended us getting his blood taken and the levels checked. Thankfully we got a call that his levels are very normal. Sometimes breastfed babies have the jaundice for longer than bottle fed babies.

Tom and Kerry sent a few outfits for Oliver. I love this fun rocker onesie! Brooke looked at it and said, "violins!"

Matching

I couldn't resist some photos of our two little snugly kids this morning!

Anyone else notice the HUGE difference of complexions here!?!

Book

Brooke's favorite book is this Spanish Word Book of Kent's! She loves the pictures, especially the animal pages. Every time we read it there is something new to learn.

ABC Song

I have been trying to capture Brooke's singing on tape, but it's getting harder as she gets older. Finally, I realized how to get her to perform... give her some music to read! Enjoy Brooke's ABC Song!

Alaska Grandparents Visit

My parents made a huge drive up from southern California to see this little guy... and us too, I'm sure. They followed the GPS directions and made it safely to Cashmere. It has been great timing because Kent is back to school and has an extremely busy two weeks with lots of night concerts and events. I am not overwhelmed because I know I have people here to help me. It's not easy to nurse a baby every two hours, change a "gazillion" diapers, entertain a toddler, tidy up a house, make snacks, cook dinner, do dishes... all on a few hours of sleep!

Brooke has had a couple of great days. There are a few new struggles, but overall she is a joy to be with. Nap time and night time are more challenging, especially when she knows there is company at our house. We are also working on the "limp body" thing she does when she doesn't want to do something. If any mothers out there have any ideas on how to improve this behavior, I'd appreciate it!

Oliver is still a pretty easy going baby!

I love his little smiles!

Grandpa John loves his grandchildren!