Puppy and Friend

A puppy came in the mail! It was sent by my Aunt from California. Thanks, Aunt Dotty!
Patting the puppy's head.
Making the puppy wiggle. It will be fun to take this puppy for walks once Jake is walking! Speaking of Jake walking, last night he used his walker and went back and forth about 20 times across the floor in the upstairs of his home! He started slowly but was walking pretty fast by the end and had a great time. He even walked so fast a few times that the walker got ahead of him and he fell to his knees, but he wasn't fazed.
Last night I went to birthday party for Tori, who turned 30. I haven't seen her in about a year and a half, and we grew up together in Portland, and were best friends in grade school through high school.
It was so wonderful to see her and her family again!


P.S. Readers... it's vacation time! You can look forward to a nice, long post on our adventures when we return ;)

Walking ... soon.

Is this cutie pie walking yet?

A question I have been getting a lot these days is "Is Jake walking?". He is not yet walking, but he did quite a bit of walking today with the aid of a toy walker. It won't be too long now!!




Out on the deck with Grandma. It was a really pretty day.
He loved riding in this push cart.
Mama and Jake smiling for the camera.

Dirt

Jake helps Daddy spread bark mulch...


Jake really likes the dirt. And being naked. And being outdoors. I think it's very cute.

My friend requested to see pictures of my garden, so these are for you, Aubrey!
Corn, zucchini, yellow squash, and sunflowers.
Catnip, swiss chard, peas, lettuce, carrots, and radishes.
Tomatoes behind the apple tree.
Onions, lettuce, gypsy bell peppers.

IKEA, Signs, and Date!

Yesterday we got to visit the new Portland IKEA store. My parent's best friends got special passes to preview and shop at the store before it opened to the general public. That was so cool! I hadn't planned to go for at least 2 months after it opened to avoid the crowds. It was still crowded, but not as crazy as it will be. Anyway, we had a great time. The store is huge, but the set-up is very cool. They have rooms all set up and decorated so you can see how furniture looks together. They also have entire "apartments" set up and tell you how many square feet of living space that is, like 375 square feet, to show you everything that you can fit into that space and how to make it work. We didn't end up getting anything big, but we did get a stool for children to stand on to use the bathroom sink (something we'd been needing for awhile for our friend's children who come visit our house) and a cool red ice cream scooper for all the coconut crack ice cream we eat.

My favorite section was the children's -- and Jake loved it, too! You can see him playing in the children's rooms.
This chair was cool. The white cover went all the way down to form a "cocoon" of sorts.
These holes went through 3 rooms! Jake discovered it on his own and the adults were all having to run from room to room to keep an eye on him. Luckily there were 6 of us adults there.
He loved this rocking moose (hey, it's a Swedish store and they do moose instead of horses) :) Grandma and Grandpa got this for him.

Jake is signing more and more now. Yesterday he started signing "cat" and is now doing it whenever he sees a cat, either a real one or a picture of one (or the ceramic cat that my mom has in her house). He also signed "Daddy" for the first time this morning. So sweet! Also he was playing with Mike's pager/cellphone and he picked it up, put it to his ear, and said "hello, hello?" We have never play acted with the phone like that with him, he picked that up from other people! Too funny.

Last night Mike and I had our first date post-baby. It was wonderful!! We left Jake with my parents and then went home, parked the car, and then walked into the village. A new establishment called Journeys had opened up 4 months ago, and we had been wanting to check it out (no children allowed). They serve beer, wine, and appetizers, and we loved sitting outside, drinking, sharing an appetizer, and talking. It was lovely to focus entirely on each other, and know that Jake was happy elsewhere. Then we walked back home and had a bit more time together before my parents brought Jake back home. The evening made me feel like a giggly 20 year old again. :)

13 Months

Dear Jake,

Today you are 13 months old. It's so hard for me to believe that you're now past a year. You are so much fun to be with, and you make me laugh constantly. You have become quite the little explorer, especially in the kitchen. Taking the straws, plastic bags, and wax paper bags out of their respective boxes entertains you greatly. You love looking at the pantry shelves and looking at all the cans and jars of food. A big thing for you right now is learning that things go in and out, on and off, etc. You are trying so hard to do things yourself, and your Daddy and I are constantly reminded that you can do new things, and to let you try. Here's a picture of you feeding yourself soup for the first time yesterday!

You love to go outside -- the dirt, rain, water, and grass are all wonderful to you. And luckily, you love shower water as well so we can get you clean. Today for your 13 month birthday we went berry picking again. It wasn't raining when we arrived, but it was pouring by the time we stopped picking and started heading back to the car, and like a true native Oregonian, that was just fine with you (I'm sure the Alaskan genes helped, too). We got more raspberries, but we also got boysenberries and marionberries. You weren't too sure about the boysenberries and marionberries, but I was happy to get them. We're having marionberry-raspberry crisp tonight.

(Boysenberries on the left, raspberries, and marionberries on the right.)

I love you so much, my sweet 13 month old boy!

Bread-Making Playdate

Today my friend Joi and her son, Greyson came over. Joi showed me how to make yeast bread. It was so much fun to do -- I used to do it all the time with my Grandma while I was growing up. I had forgotten all the steps, but I hadn't lost my "muscle memory" of how to knead the bread! The bread is delicious and both Mike and I are delighted. Thank you, Joi!

While we baked, our sons played. Greyson is 9 months old, and even though he is younger than Jake, they are the same mobility-wise. That was really nice for them -- they crawled around and pulled themselves up and stood next to each other. They played really nicely, too, with only a few attempted face-pokes and no tears.

Yummmmmmmm.
While I was kneading the bread, I gave Jake flour to play with.


Look closely at the cutie pie covered in flour!

Raspberries

This morning Jake and I met some MDC friends at West Union Farms and picked raspberries. They were yummy! It was raining but warm and we enjoyed ourselves. Jake ate raspberries while hanging out on my back as I picked them. He hasn't really liked the raspberries I've offered him so far this summer, but he had no problem eating these.

Jake with raspberry on his face and wet hair from the rain :)

I ended up picking 7.7 pounds!! At $1.25 a pound, this is cheaper and yummier than the store-brought ones. Only made me want to go back for more (I'd love to get some marionberries and tayberries). I'm working on freezing most of what I picked today. Will be delicious in smoothies while they last.

Pennies

Today I read this blog entry on the Erin Pavlina website. I really like her website, and I especially liked this blog entry. She says "Every time I pick up a penny I am saying to the universe, 'I see the money you are sending my way and I am grateful. Thank you! And please keep it coming!'" And "Pennies grow into dimes, which grow into dollars, which grow into thousands and even millions of dollars. If you can’t show the universe you’re willing to pick up pennies, why would it trust you with dollars?" Last week on Wednesday I had gone outside and discovered that 3 pennies had appeared on my back deck. I have no idea how they got there. I looked at them but then ignored them. Well after reading Erin's blog, I immediately went outside and picked up all 3 pennies and thanked the universe for them. How fitting that there were 3 -- one for Mike, one for Jake, and one for me. We're not rich but we're not poor either, but everyone could always use a bit more money, both to use and to give away.

Semi but not totally related, the song "Magic Penny" has been stuck in my head all morning now.

Magic Penny (Malvina Reynolds)

Love is something if you give it away

Give it away, give it away

Love is something if you give it away

You end up having more

It's just like a magic penny

Hold it tight & you won't have any

Lend it, spend it & you'll have so many

They'll roll all over the floor, for

Love is something if you give it away

Give it away, give it away

Love is something if you give it away

You end up having more

Okay so these photos were a total set-up, but they are cute. Dorky thing for me to do, I know :)
(Don't worry, Mom, I was watching closely to make sure they didn't go into his mouth!)

Oregon Country Fair

Today the 3 of us drove down to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair, and it was our first time. It was wonderful and overwhelming and so much fun! There was really good food, lots of booths with arts and crafts, and great entertainment. But the best part was the people, and all the people watching that we did. A lot of people dress up in costumes or dress down and use body paint or nothing at all, and there was just so much creativity and general good feeling there. We'll go back again next year.

When we entered the Fair we were greeted by Tree Man.
I walked around the Fair like this a lot. There was a lot to see, hear, smell, etc. and it was a bit overwhelming. It really helped Jake to be able to nurse while experiencing the Fair.
Great entertainment there!
My sweet, sweet boy!!
And my wonderful husband.
We spent part of our time there relaxing and letting Jake crawl around and play. You can see our friends in the background. (Sara, Emily's husband, Seth, Rich, Kaden, and to the right of Mike, Breana with her baby Kiran on her back).
Max, Ellie, and Jake.
There were lots of hula hoops around!
Max, Kaden, and Jake.
A nap... nice!
Then it's Jake's turn for a nap.
A wizard greeted us during our walk around the Fair.
This was what I got for myself -- a cool crown! Every girl needs a crown of her own :)
It's almost 7pm, time to leave.
One last picture of us and the sights.
Where's our car?
Dirty but happy feet!