Rub-a-dub-dub

Two boys in the tub!

Too Cute

Chillin' in the wagon.

Going for a ride.

Grace and Maddeck drawing rainbows on the sidewalk.

Evan sitting in the sprinkler. He liked getting a little wet.

It is just too cute when Grace wears Maddeck's clothes. It has only happened a couple times. The other day she was over and the kids wanted to run in the sprinkler. We put Maddeck's swim trunks and swim shirt on her and it was adorable. She can totally pull of the tom-boy look and still look like a darling little girl. I could never have done that when I was little because I was confused for a boy even when I was wearing a dress.

Teeth

Evan just got his first tooth. Yippee! We have been waiting and waiting and finally his bottom left has arrived. He is looking forward to being able to chew on tastier things like cheerios now. He has been gumming things for a while but has had a tough time without teeth. Maddeck had both his bottom up and his tops coming in at Evan's age.

Evan has also officially started dancing. He was swaying to the sound of the kitchen aid mixer yesterday. He loves the toy piano and pulls himself up to the standing position and pushes the buttons and starts dancing. He is so cute standing with his stout little body. He is also pulling himself up on anything and everything now. He is moving quickly in the army crawl. Although, he can get up on all fours he prefers the army crawl right now. It is hard to believe he will be 9 months old soon. The summer months always go by so fast too. Before we know it we will be celebrating his first birthday. He has done and seen so many things in the first 9 months of his life. He has already been to Mexico and seen the Pacific ocean, he has been to the Arizona desert, seen the Grand Canyon from flight (he actually loved looking out the window on the plane), been to the Washington coast, flown out of Pangborn Airport in Wenatchee (Mt. Rainier is breathtaking on that flight), been to the Seattle Aquarium (which was my first time as well). He has also experienced three of the four seasons here at home. I am looking forward to his first summer and floating the river. Bring on the summer heat.

In-N-Out

Arizona Trip

We returned home on Monday from our family trip in Arizona. Kyle's sister Jesica was having her destination wedding at the Westin La Paloma resort in Tucson. It was amazing. It was a busy five days filled with time with family and time to play. The wedding was gorgeous and the reception was perfect. We enjoyed the music and food and great conversations. It made me want to marry Kyle again. Weddings are so much fun. Maddeck was the ring bear (aka ring thrower). He froze walking down the aisle and decided to throw the rings to Steve rather than walk to the front. Kyle basically had to drag him down the aisle. Not what we rehearsed, but you can't control how a three year old is going to handle himself with all eyes on him. If any of you truly know Maddeck, you know how timid he can be. Check out some of the pics from the trip. They are not in order. I will post some more pics from the wedding later.

Enjoying ourselves at the wedding reception.
Maddeck before the wedding. Can you see the fear in his eyes?

Grand Canyon on our flight home.

Listening to his music on the ipod on the flight home.

"Look, I made a 'P' out of my pretzel!"

Looking up at the bubbles he was blowing.

Hanging by the pool in Phoenix.

Playing in the grass during the pre-wedding photo session.

Prickly Pear Cactus - my favorite. There is a little bee on that yellow bloom.

Evan loved the pool.

Ev and Maddo playing by the pool.

Kyle and his sister Jesica (the beautiful bride).

Happy Evan sitting in his stroller under the misters by the pool. It felt so nice.

Riding in the tram. Me, Evan, Maddeck (he looks like he is going to melt), Adam, and Kyle.

Maddeck fell asleep. He was not as fascinated by the beauty of the desert as the rest of us.

Maddeck waiting for his poolside lunch. He wanted to go swimming so badly, but we seriously needed to eat first. He was so patient.

Two of my boys. The other was sleeping in my arms. Grandpa and Grandma with Maddeck on the Sabino Canyon tram tour.

Lying in bed with our sunglasses on. He lost his sunglasses on the trip. Bummer.

Maddeck just before boarding our flight to Phoenix.

"Ella"

Weeda Weekend

We spent the weekend with the Weedas in Blaine, WA. What a treat. We not only had the joy of spending time with our dear friends from college, but we finally met their new baby girl, Livia Mae. They just moved to a new house on Birch Bay and we truly enjoyed our vacation-like visit. The entire trip I kept saying "wow, this is where you live!?". We loved watching the tide go in and out and especially checking out the starfish, crab, clams, and sand dollars at the beach. It made Wenatchee look a little shabby. Although on the trip home, we were taken back by the beauty of where we live too. The 200+ mile trip was gorgeous. We stayed up too late visiting and getting hosed by Andy playing Monoply. We feasted in a way that you only do with your best of friends. It was wonderful and will be another cherished family memory. We are happy to be back home, as traveling with tiny ones can be exhausting for both kids and parents. Thank you Weedas for a great weekend. We love you guys. (Once again, we forgot to take a family picture)

Giggle Giggle

Haircut

Maddeck has been getting really wiggly when we try to cut his neckline at the end of his haircut. He was able to watch Word World and eat popcorn if he was able to sit still. He ended up (after a struggle) sitting still and allowing Kyle to trim. He was so excited! He enjoyed an entire bowl of popcorn, and entire bowl of green beans (he just thought they sounded good), and ice water with his show that he watched on the computer.

Some new Maddeck Quotes I thought I would share ...

Maddeck: "I love Grace. She is such a cute girl."

Mom: "What do you think Evan will call you when he starts talking?" "Will he have a nickname for you?" Maddo: "I think he should call me Little Bear or Goosey" (Interesting and cute choices ... I guess that is why kids don't pick their own nicknames. They just sort of happen.)

Maddeck: "Mom I am sorry that I poop in my pants ... I will poop in the potty next time." (This makes my heart melt. He is so sweet.)

Maddeck: "I am gonna be the wedding bearer at Jesica's wedding."

Maddeck: "I want to wear my Tebas (Tevas) today."

Maddeck: "Blueblerry and strawburry smoovie" (he loves smoothies he just can't pronounce it)

8 Months

Yesterday Evan turned 8 months old!! Time goes by so quickly.

Evan is making new sounds (ra, ma, da, la, ga)! He has always been vocal, but it was always in the form of vowel sounds. This past weekend, Evan's Aunt Laura asked him to say Laura and he said "la-ra". We asked him again and again to say it. He kept saying it ra-ra or la-ra-ra-ra-ra. We, of course, proudly labelled the sounds as distinct words. 'Laura' is officially his first word to both myself and Laura K. Anyone else with the name Laura would also confirm. :)

Other big things on Evan's progress report include waving hello and goodbye. He also rolls his hands around and around. We are going to start working on signing more with him now that we know he is ready to communicate with his hands. We started with the basics with Maddeck -- more, eat, and milk. One of my favorite signs to teach is 'help' because Maddeck used it a lot when he was frustrated as a early toddler. Instead of crying and freaking out he learned to ask for help. We hope Evan will be successful using sign language as well.

Yesterday Evan pulled himself up from the sitting position to his knees and then to the standing position. He seems pretty shaky so I don't think he is going to start walking anytime soon but he may start moving around furniture before too long. Right now he enjoys holding our hands and walking around. He has the army crawl down and gets up on all fours. He can also sit and dig his heels into the floor and scoot around backward. You can tell he thinks it is cool to move while sitting up. Yesterday he was sitting and scooting across the kitchen floor and backed into the island. He couldn't figure out why he had stopped and kept trying to move. He gave up and went back to his forward moving army crawl.

Scoot

Eternity

Yesterday my great uncle Joe passed away. I spent some time with him about an hour before he died. He was almost 93 and dying from cancer. He weighed less than 100 pounds. There is nothing like watching someone die. You can't help but realize that we are not meant for this life. We are perishing. I have known three people who have died in as many weeks. What is the meaning of this life? When this life is over, and it will be, everyone will go before the Lord. One week before our friend Wayne died he was lying in his hospital bed, his mind was completely aware that his body was shutting down. His soul was alive and well, but his body was about to turn off. It was in that moment, that he knew he was not just going to go in the ground (his belief his whole life) but that his soul was going somewhere. He accepted Jesus Christ and was forgiven for all his sins that day. For the last week of his life he knew the joy that comes only through knowing Christ. After a life on the broad road the Lord made a new path for Wayne. In the words of Jesus, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade ... In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9

Talking on the phone

Maddeck was playing with his hairbrush and using it as a toy phone today. Here are two of the conversations he had.

Hi Jordan. (Pause) What are you doin' today? (Pause) Oh, you're at Papa's house. (Pause) Oh you're painting. Okay bye. (Click)

Hi Mimi. What are you doin' today? (Pause) Oh, cleaning the kitchen. You're so cute. Bye. (Click)

Art

Here are some faces that Maddeck drew on the chalkboard. I like the teeny tiny one at the top.

Sweet Evan

Evan after his bath last night.