Happy 4th of July

It just wouldn't be the 4th of July without ribs and baked beans.... Sawyer enjoying ribs for the 1st time... Diego digging into baked beans!

This 4th of July Scott didn't have to work the whole day! WHOOPEE!! We never seem to get him for these kind of holiday's, he's usually working all day covering traffic, parades, events. But this year, due to the fact that some admin (who don't have to work the holiday) tried to do some very underhanded manipulation to the traffic team's schedules, they ended up having to give them most of the day off and then paying them overtime for the time that they did go in. Again, WHOOPEE!! Sometimes things work out for the best...

We enjoyed the afternoon at Lee and Cheryl's, under their big tree. The babies had such a fun time, and since the Diaz' joined us, we had three little boys playing on the toys, in the water and entertaining each other.

Reed and Brady are just a few months apart and at this stage they weren't so interested in each other, but it will be fun for Reed to have a playmate around at family gatherings when they get older!

Meghan bought all the kids 4th of July shirts. Reed and Diego looked so cute in their matching outfits!

Sawyer got her fireworks during the early evening this year. She was so bummed it wasn't dark...but I knew she'd never be able to stay awake until 10pm. So, we set off a small set of fireworks...and it was a nice little display. The best part was that all the babies seemed to enjoy them, rather than be afraid of them. Hopefully a sign of good things to come!

Baby's First Trip to the Zoo

Today was Reed's first trip to the Portland Zoo, and at 9 months old, he loved it more than I would have guessed. He loved looking at the animals, and would try to get out of his seat to get a closer look. It was so funny to see him smile and wave at the hippos, the elephants and the giraffe. I held him up to see some of the smaller animals, and I really think he was disappointed he wasn't able to touch and pet them all.

It was a perfect zoo trip. The weather was wonderful and the zoo was not very busy. I think we'll go on Wednesday's all summer long.

Family Reunion

We had a fabulous 4 day weekend at the Compton Family Reunion. It was so much fun to see my fabulous Auntie Jo, all my wonderful uncles, my Gannie and all of those cousins that Scott teases me about (he loves to say that "everyone" is my cousin).

We met Rob's little boys, Seth and Sammie. Sawyer and Lucy had a blast going to the fair and playing all day with them. They weren't able to stay the whole weekend, but the girls had fun with them while they were there. They went to the carnival at the Fiddler's Festival and while there got their faces painted. They are too cute!

The food was fantastic. We ate like kings. Uncle Chris made an amazing Mexican dinner, with a corn salad recipe that I can't wait to steal. And on the last night we had fresh Alaskan crab, halibut and salmon. To die for! I think I gained 5 pounds from eating non stop!

My very own Brewmaster, Uncle Chris brought me some of his Raspberry Beer! At almost any gathering that he knows I will be at, my Uncle Chris brings me Raspberry Beer (he even brought a keg of it to my wedding). Back 16 years ago, Uncle Chris brought microbrew to a family gathering...my uncles thought it was weird...I thought he was a genious!

I fell in love with the Raspberry Beer he had made.

So, ever since, he's made sure to remember me....I love my Uncle Chris!

Auntie Jo was fabulous and helped facilitate a very important and needed change to my life. I'd hang out in the circle with Auntie Jo, Frog and Sarah any night of the week!

The trip to Idaho was a challenging one, with Reed alternating between crying, fussing and sleeping (and there was definitely a lot less sleeping than anything else). It was difficult to do all by myself and I don't think I will be trying it alone again anytime soon...which might mean we won't make it back to Idaho this summer. But I think we packed in a ton of fun in one weekend, and I can't wait for the next family reunion!

Happy New House

Today we get to fully appreciate owning our new home...because the sale of our old home has finally gone through! Meghan and Eddie are now the proud owners of our Morrow house!!!

No more paying for 3 mortgages! No waking up in the middle of the night wondering if we made the right decision!!!

It's done...and we are so happy!!!!

9 months

Could this month be any harder?

Reed started out the month by finishing off a cold his sister shared with him. Then he proceeded to get two teeth. And Reed finished it off by getting a double ear infection.

I am exhausted.

There is no way I want to relive this month again. To top everything off, he stopped sleeping through the night when he got his cold and decided to get up at least once a night for his whole 9th month. Lucky for me he's already back to sleeping through the night, but it was rough while it lasted.The best part of this month was when Reed stopped scooting across the floor and started to crawl instead. He is so proud of himself and goes everywhere! He's still trying to get the walking thing down, but has temporarily lost interest in it, since he can get to where he wants by crawling.

He also started waving hi and bye. It's adorable to have him wave at people when they leave. The funniest part is that it looks like he is just so happy to watch them go. He plays peek a boo with us and loves to make us laugh. I can't believe how funny he really is. My little character.

My sweet little boy had a very difficult month, and for what he had to go through, he was such a good baby. He would get fussy at times, but not as much as you would have expected for all the pain he was in and how sick he really was.

As always, life is quite the adventure. Can't wait to see what next month holds!

Lucy and Charlie

Before I can even begin to talk about how much fun we had when Lucy and Charlie (and their parents, of course) came to visit...I have to first admit how awful of a sister and an aunt that I really am. Sarah had asked me a month ago if I would like to have Lucy and Charlie for a night or two while she and Trent took a few days to themselves. Of course I jumped at the chance and even asked if I could just keep them the whole time. Since Trent's mom is only an hour away from me, but 7 hours away from them...I had to share. When it actually came down to time to take them, my schedule had gone from open and clear...to so busy that I was going to have to juggle babysitting EVERY DAY!!! It was horrible. Sarah and Trent were so wonderful and quickly stepped up to say that it was just as easy to have his mom watch them all of the days.

I am still so sad I missed my special time with the kids. Sawyer and I had activities and fun trips planned while they were here. And my daughter is just as sad as I am. We will make it up to everyone...I just have to figure out how and when!!

Lucy and Charlie were so much fun to have around!!! Sawyer and Lucy have only one volume when the get together....LOUD!!! My house sounds like it's FULL of little girls, not just two teeny tiny grade schoolers! It's insane when they get together...but they have so much fun..it's hard to tell them to stop.

While they were here, Sawyer showed off some of her reading skills to her Auntie Sarah...and then Lucy (who just turned 5) proceeded to read the same book Sawyer had just finished reading. The really weird thing about that is, it's just like how Sarah learned how to read!!! I was in first grade...and I was really struggling to get this whole reading thing down. My 4 year old sister would sit by me on the couch...and follow along. My mom was amazed to figure out that not only was Sarah able to read what I had just read...but she could read books on her own. My super smart niece is just like my super smart sister...they have that innate ability to just pick up reading. It's wonderful and I know that Lucy is going to do so well in Kindergarten this year!

And then there's Charlie. Little sweet Charlie, who last Christmas would not repeat anything you asked him to...and now, at age 2, speaks more clearly than Sawyer or Lucy at age 4!!! Not only that, he's our little genius! He is so smart, he can count, he can recite books and he can follow directions like no 2 year old I've ever seen. He's so calm and sweet and he loves his Auntie Rachel. He eats anything I make him and he always says please and thank you! I could just eat him up!

We had so much fun with our family while they were here. I just feel so blessed that my sister and I had babies, the same gender, close enough in age that they will always have someone to play with when they get together. And if Charlie and Reed follow along with how their sisters get along...they will always enjoy hanging around their best friend!!!

Big Boy and Best Friends

I really love my babies. They are so sweet and they love each other so much.

And I can already see what's going to happen....

Reed has been crawling everywhere and when he's not exploring his world...he's trying to walk.

This boy is on the go and it looks like he has no desire to stop anytime soon.

One of the best things that has come from moving into our new house is....Lauren!!

She is the 6 year old who lives right across the street.

Sawyer and Lauren love each other and have been having so much fun playing. It has been wonderful to have her so close!