Tap Dancer & Talker

I don't share videos very often because I am not very patient and don't like waiting for them to download, but these were too cute to pass up.

The one of Allie was right when she first started taking tap class. We ordered new shoes before one of our Oregon trips and when we came home they were waiting for us! She was so happy to try them on and they "worked". Sorry about the camera skills but I was trying to get it all in!



Paige loves to talk and talk and talk...this video is a bit long but I was able to get a few good shots of her teeth while she was talking. I still can't believe she had two teeth before she was three months old. Hope you enjoy the girls in action!

Three Months Already???

Paige Kaitlyn is already 3 months old...now almost three and a half. I can't even believe it...I don't know where the time goes. She is such a great baby. We keep wondering how we got so lucky. She is perfect! She has 2 teeth and has been on two plane rides to Portland and back and never really made a peep. She just goes with the flow. She loves to play with her jungle gym, talk and look around. Now that she can focus and see better it is fun to walk into the room and see her kick her feet and wiggle with excitement and smile. She has a great smile...I have to get a good shot of her...she usually looks so serious in her pictures. She loves to talk to herself in the mirror in the car seat. We have been reading more of the "baby" books and she likes to see the baby faces. I hope she loves to read like her big sis. We have been blessed with a great little girl. We love her to pieces.

Silly Allie

Allie has a great imagination and can be very silly at times. She is so funny and is getting so big. I can't believe how fast the little ones grow. Here are just a few of her crazy moods. She went to her first garage sale with Pa up in Oregon and she came in with a wig and said "I am a grown up you know"...my mom and I could not stop laughing. Oh Allie keeps us laughing.

Got Teeth??

Paige Kaitlyn has teeth....are you kidding me? She is the best baby and is always happy and smiling so I had no idea she was teething. She loves to talk and coo and one day I was talking to her really close and thought that looks like a tooth. But then of course since she was not even three months yet, I thought for sure I was crazy. Then I poked around a bit more and sure enough she had a little white tooth. Then in the next few days the second one popped through. She has been a trooper with her new little teeth. She can not really hold a toy to chew on so it is kinda hard to sooth her itchy gums. She loves when we rub them with a wash cloth or burp rag. Our little teether is growing too fast!!

Goodbye Gram

Grandma Rosie lost her battle to lung cancer on August 12, 2010. Last week we were up in Oregon for the funeral and spent lots of time with family. Geoff wrote and gave the Eulogy and it was perfect. Grandma Rosie would have been proud. My Grandma loved her family very much and it still does not seem real that she is really gone. It is good her suffering and pain is over but she was young and very full of life before her illness. We will never forget all of the great things Gram taught us. We will miss her dearly. Love you Gram!!

Reading to Paige

Allie is an awesome Big Sister. She loves helping take care of Paige and loves to tell me what she needs. It is so funny listening to Allie tell me what needs to be done to take care of Paige. "Um mom..I think sister needs to nurse...she is getting a little finicky". Now that Paige is talking and interacting more it is fun to listen to Allie have a conversation with her. On this particular day Allie joined Paige in the crib and was reading stories to her!

Grandma Rosie

Mom, Paige and Grams

Great Grandma Rosie holding Paige

Dad and Grams..she loves holding Paige

Since Grandma Rosie is not feeling her best we are trying to get up to Scappoose as much as possible this summer to spend time with her. I flew solo with the girls and they were awesome on the plane ride. The 1 hour and 10 minute flight sure beats the 10+ hours of driving. Grandma had some pretty good days while we were there. My mom, and her siblings and of course Aunt Carol are all taking great care of her. My Aunt Charlotte from Arizona has been in Oregon for the last 6 weeks helping out. I know my grandma loves all of the family love and support at this hard time. We spent every day at her house in the morning and then would leave in the afternoon for nap time, and then would go back and hang out in the evenings. Gram always wanted to know why we were leaving so soon.....even if we had been there for hours. She has lots of visitors and always loves when the little kids are there and playing in the yard. On the night of Gracie's birthday she even joined us out on the deck. She was a little reluctant at first (didn't want it to be too much work for anyone to get her out there) but when she went out she loved it. We said gram did you enjoy being outside? and she said "I enjoyed it immensely" with a little twinkle in her eyes! She is an amazing grandma and we are anxious to go back and see her soon. This time Geoff will get to go with us!

Four Generations

Aunt Charlotte, Sarah and kiddos

Best Friends and Sister....Aunt Carol and Gram

Great Aunt Carol, Gram & Paige

Oh Rosie....Aunt Carol and Gram love each other very much

Mom and Gram eating a little pizza

Grandma and Gracie on her 2nd BirthdayOne happy Grammie Rosies

Pa the Great

It is a lot of fun to go to Oregon to hang out with Pa. My dad has tons of energy and is full of foolishness. This is why Allie loves playing with Pa. She never stops playing when we are in the 'poose! One day after my dad had worked 14 hours he came in the house looking for his girls to dance. He popped in a CD and Allie, Pa and Paige all busted a move. Allie loved it and was saying "now dip me Pa". I wish I had it on video.

My parents have the best blueberries and Allie loves to pick them. Once night Allie, Uncle Jim and Pa picked blueberries for a blueberry pie. Allie ate as she went (as she always does) but they had quite a lot of blueberries and made a pie the next morning. She was making it for Grandma Rosie so it was fun to take her a piece when it was finished. She is not really a blueberry fan, but since Allie made it she was a good sport and had a piece (with ice cream of course).

Pa playing football with Allie, Xavier and Gracie. Then he was being silly and had all of them making funny faces. It was Gracie's 2nd Birthday so we had a little "mini" party at Grandma and Grandpa's since we were going to fly home on Sunday and miss her actual birthday party.

I have NEVER met a kid that did not like my dad!

The Secret Garden

My Grandma always spends hours, days, weeks, well just a ton of time shopping for flowers and planting them. It is one of her favorite things to do when the weather gets nice. This year, she was going through Chemo treatment during the planting season so she was not able to get out and shop or plant flowers. So for her birthday, everyone brought flats of flowers and then they had a planting party and Grandma gave directions and the flowers looked beautiful.

Gram in April celebrating her 72nd Birthday

Now the flowers are in full bloom and Allie loved going to her "Secret Garden". She spent hours out in the garden while we were up visiting. She loved digging in the dirt and planting. It was nice my Grandma got to get out and see the kids in the garden. They love to hunt for frogs and look at all the beautiful flowers.



We had a great trip up north and got to spend a lot of time with family. Sometimes we take family for granted when we are rushing through life so it has been nice to slow down a bit on our visits and spend time with the fam!

Uncle Dave and Paigee Pooh

Uncle Jos talking to the girls

Aunt Charlotte with Paige

Kisses from Uncle Jos

S'mores with the Oregon cousins

Allie has been wanting to make S'mores on a camping trip, but since we don't have a camping trip planned, we thought we would roast marshmallows and make S'mores on my grandma and grandpa's outside fire pit. All of the cousins, young and old, enjoyed making S'mores by the "campfire". Paige and Raelyn (youngest cousins) were in the mix but could only have recycled S'mores :o) We had so much fun we did it two different nights. My grandma was inside and wanted to see what the kids were doing out back so the kids lined up and ate their S'mores in front of the window so Grandma Rosie could be part of the fun!! They were an ooey, gooey mess but totally worth it!