Pool Party

It's finally hot enough to bring out the pool and water ball! We got it all set up today in the back yard. Both kids had fun playing. Later, we turned on the yard sprinklers and Nathan had a blast running through them. He just got soaked! That water is cold too!

Trips to the store

Two ducks must always come to the store. We parents are often terrified they might become lost, but they are clutched quite tightly in those little hands.


Bringing snacks keeps babies happy.


Elizabeth likes to drink water in the car.


So does Nathan.

They're so cute sitting in the backseat. Elizabeth just got turned around to face forward. She just didn't fit backwards any more! Her little legs were all scrunched up.

Around the House

I love to just take pictures of the kids playing around the house. Here are some more of them partaking in their favorite activities.


Nathan is a good helper at unloading the dishwasher, so Elizabeth wanted to try too...


Painting is a lot of fun for a 16 month old....for about 3 minutes.


Nathan is great at unloading the dishwasher! He makes piles of dishes and puts the silverware away.


We've been cutting branches. Elizabeth pulls away the small branches.


Jeremy pulls away the big branches.


Nathan pulls away the medium size branches. I take pictures!


Dinnertime is quite messy around here! Now that Jeremy is back on day shift, we'll have all 4 of us eating at the table!

Nathan loves to sit in the brown chair and listen to books on tape while eating cereal. His nose is running badly here because of all the pollen.

Look, I pulled my bow out again! Elizabeth's hair is getting quite messy but she won't let me do anything with it. I try bows and ponytails and she just pulls them out.

Visits to the Valley

Nathan has been having some dental work down out in the Spokane Valley. While we've been out there for dental appointments, we've had fun stopping and playing at the super cool Discovery Park!
The park isn't all rocks. It just seems that is where I took the pictures!

I think this is a pensieve!


Big slide!


Nathan loves the trampoline.


Playing in Dr. Molly's waiting room.

June Videos

 

Garbage Day

Nathan loves to watch the garbage man.

He calls him Mr. Gilly. Mr. Gilly is the main character in the book "Trashy Town."

We don't wake up well from naps...

Elizabeth wakes up horribly from naps. Sometimes, she'll wake up and cry for 45 minutes or more!

The weird thing is that Nathan was the exact same way. He would cry for that amount of time too. He only stopped crying when he stopped napping!

It's so sad and neither child seems to want any consolation.

Swinging

A highly related activity around here is swinging.

Nathan loves it when Daddy gives him underdogs and spins him around.

Elizabeth has always refused to swing in her baby swing. So today, we carefully put her in the big swing. And guess what? She holds on and loves it. We don't push her too high though.

She wants to do everything Nathan does!

Eating at the Big Table

Elizabeth keeps wanting to eat at the big table. We got out the booster seat. She likes to eat there, but what a mess!

Nathan quote of the day

"Scissors are like chainsaws because they chop stuff up."

Nathan is practicing cutting with the fun scissors that make the different cuts. He's big into doing puzzles today too!

Pictures around the house

We're so thankful it's nice out so we can play outside again. Here are some pictures.

Spraying water is a 3 year old's favorite outside activity!


Trying to ride on the backhoe is a fun activity for a 1 year old!

Reading with Mom is also lots of fun!


Sorting out ducks is a top priority


Time for everyone to head over to the nearby tree!


Aunt Karen sent this nice new vest! It's cold enough in June to wear it!

She doesn't like the baby swing but wants to sit in laps and ride on the big swing

Let's take a stroller ride!

Elizabeth trying on her swimsuit. Hopefully warm weather will come soon so we can bring out the pool!

The yard is looking great!

Jeremy has been working really hard to make our lawn look nice. Last year was the "Year of the Yard." He spent a lot of time getting it to grow and look nice. This year, it's looking nice too! Here are some pictures. It's so green!

Jeremy's big lawn mower helper

Jeremy also has a big helper who helps him mow the lawn! Side by side or Nathan follows to make sure Jeremy didn't miss any grass.

Elizabeth is 16 months

Elizabeth is 16 months old now!

I'm trying to document many of the things she can do and say.
I think the thing I'm most amazed at is her vocabulary! She's definitely a girl.
She seems to learn a new word every day. She will also imitate everything we say. If Nathan is counting, she will count too using the same tones in her voice, but not necessarily the right word.
Plus, she understands everything we are saying.

She can now point to many of her body parts and say the word. She can do nose, ears, eyes, tongue and hands. It's so cute to hear her say "Nose!"

She also does very considerate things. Today, she came and pulled on my leg and said, "Poo!" She had loaded up her diaper and was telling me so I should go change her.

She loves to copy every single thing Nathan does. He likes to play with his stuffed ducks, so she plays with her stuffed duck. He likes to carry his water cup around, so she does too.

I think she's starting to learn her colors. She can say blue, yellow, red, and green. Most of the time, she seems to pick the right block when I ask for it.

She communicates pretty well. She can say up, down, cup, bottle, cracker, close, car, shoe, sock, help, please and thanks. When she says slide I know she wants to slide down the couch cushions.

She still mixes up Mama and Dada though. She thinks we're both Dada or both Mama!

She does animal sounds for dog, horse, sheep, chicken and duck.

She loves to hide under sheets and blankets and play peekaboo. She loves to put blocks into containers and bags. She loves to play with playdough (she used to eat it!).

She's not too into books yet. She will listen to a page and then move on to a new activity.

Currently she loves to open and shut her closet door and hide inside of it and then slide it open and say "boo!"

She likes to ride around on her scooter and likes to push the kid lawnmower around outside. She also loves to play in water. She likes to throw rocks and leaves and float things in the water.

She doesn't like to swing in her baby swing yet. She likes to sit in people's laps to swing.

She likes to draw with sidewalk chalk. She can draw straight lines!

She helps you take off her clothes and puts them in the laundry. She'll put her dirty diapers in the diaper genie.

More words she says (for me to remember): Pinecone, pitch, pop, ball, woof, no, yeah, balloons, pretty, car, pen, dump, cut, hot, done, book, phone, toes, bye, duck, stop.

The other day, I asked her if she wanted to go outside and she said, "No I don't!"
That was her first sentence.

I love my little dolly so much!

Laundry Helper

I have a big laundry helper.

Every day, Nathan asks if it's a laundry day. If it is, he puts all the dirty clothes in his hamper and brings it downstairs to the washer. Then, he dumps in the soap for me, puts in the laundry, and watches everything spin for a while.

It has been "Duck washing season" according to Nathan. We wash his stuffed ducks pretty much every time we do laundry. I'm worried they are going to fall apart!

He helps me put the laundry in the dryer. When it buzzes, he'll disappear downstairs to put all the laundry in the hamper and bring the dry clothes upstairs to fold!

It's nice he can help with these things now! He loves it!

Visit to Papa Norm and Grandma Jane's

We went to visit Papa Norm and Grandma Jane on a very quick weekday trip last month! We have a lot of good pictures so I will try to post the best ones here.


Nathan playing in the ditch


Changing water with Papa Norm

Walking around looking important

Feeding some sheep

Grandma Jane has her own art gallery!

An upside down world is the best!

Pulling off all the lilacs

Playing in the washing machine box!

There are lots of good toys here! (Mom's old toys!)