Isaac Makes Abigail Laugh

Okay, so I am posting 3 things in one day, but I just HAD TO post this video of Isaac making Abigail laugh. They were just sitting on our bed together after I bathed them upon our return home from Oaks Park. ***Make sure your sound is up LOUD**

First Roller-coaster Ride

~Isaac and Mommy in the blue car~

Since the county fair, Isaac has been talking about how he wants to be big enough to ride the roller-coaster...well, today was the day. We went with the Springers to Oaks Park today and had a good time. The "big kids" went on all sorts of rides together and only got scared on about 25% of them. :) After that, we had lunch together at the park by the river and went for a walk together. Aunt Christina took the kids on a hike and they came back with awesome walking sticks. CHECK OUT PICTURES BY CLICKING THIS LINK

~Alora's magic Trick~

"Now you see me..."

"Now you don't...oops, you can still see my feet."

First Date?

Elijah says to Abigail, "I have a surprise for you."

"Oops, I dropped it!"
"It's okay," replies Abigail, "I can reach it."

"I love it...you are the best, Elijah!"

"Well...if you think so, come here baby..."

"...and give me a kiss, Abigail."

"No tongue!!!"

"Let's just snuggle..."

"I scored...think she likes me"

"Well...he is cute and we're not blood 'cousins'."

Alora's 2!!!

~Yummy Cake~I love the sand...Why do all the other playgrounds have bark?

Uncle Tarzan...I mean Steve

"Dr. Marvin, look...I'm a sailor...I'm sailing...I'm a sailor!"

We had such a fun day at the park with the Springers celebrating Alora's 2nd birthday. The park we had the party at has a lake, a water play area, tons of playgrounds and even boats. Papa and Grandma came toa and made the day so wonderful. It is amazing how much easier it is to parent when you have grandparents there to help you. They took care of all the kids throughout the day. Abigail took her entire morning nap in Grandma's arms...it was cute. Papa played with Isaac on the playgound and even wore Isaac's hat all day...silly Papa. They made it possible for us to take our older kids out on the lake while they took care of the babies...it was Isaac's first boat ride. Though he was scared every time a speedboat came by and made waves, I think he liked it. When he went in the water park, spray area, he loved it (even though his lips were turning blue)!

My favorite part of the day was when Steve and I took the big kids for a walk. Isaac and Alora really love each other. They just laughed and chased one another around...the grass...the trees...the walkways...the dock...It makes my heart so happy that they have each other!

You have to listen really well as Isaac sings "Happy Birthday" on the video...sorry I cut off your fingers Alora, you did a great job holding up "2" fingers.
SEE MORE FUN PARTY PICTURES



P.S. Thanks, Aunt Christina, for the special cupcakes for Isaac.

Still not 30!!! (though I've looked it for years)

On my actual Bday, we went to the fair in the morning. Isaac went on his very first ride. Thankfully, the sign wasn't put out saying (like all the other rides) that he was too short to go on. He went on the little rockets. It was cute seeing him go around and around. He didn't make it go up in the air (we still are not sure if that it because he couldn't figure it out or because he was scared), but he did have a good time. Now he keeps telling us that he wants to get bigger so he can go on the roller coaster. CLICK TO SEE MORE PICTURES

In the evening, Gma and Papa came over to watch the kiddos so we could go out. Chris went out with some guys from church and I went out with some girls to Comedy Sportz. I love the stage. I am such a ham, but I don't have the comedic sense, timing, or quick whit to be about to pull off improv like they can. I am thankful that my parents were still willing to watch the kids after torturing them in Astoria.

My Beautiful Wife's 29th Celebration of her B-day

So today is my wife's birthday. I thought that I would (for a change) write a quick note. I want to tell everyone how amazing my wife is. She is the most beautiful woman I know. She is amazingly smart. Some of you don't know how good of an artist she is. She serves me so much by doing the dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, getting me gas (in my car that is, although her beans give me really bad gas), and so much more! I remember before we had children, Amber would tell me how amazing her friends were as mothers. Now I say that she is the best mother I've met (of course I am bias). Isaac is crazy in love with his mother. Abigail is crazy in love with her mother, although she has never said anything, I just know. Above all this, what is amazing, is how much she loves Jesus. She has a passion for His word. She is faithful to her word. When she says that she is going to do it, she is going to do it. She has such a love for others. When she prays, my mouth waters. My love for her has grown over these years together. Just when I think that I can't love her any more, more love grows!!!
Happy birthday beautiful wife of mine.

Fort to Sea Trail

Click to see our PICTURES FROM THE LAST FEW FUN THINGS WE'VE DONE

Okay, so I'm not the typical birthday girl. My hubby said, "Would you like to have your parents watch the kids and go to breakfast and have a day to be pampered for your birthday?"

I replied, "No, I actually really wanted to go to Fort Clatsop in Astoria for the day and then go for a hike from the fort to the beach (called the Fort to Sea Trail) that Lewis and Clark took."

I asked my parents to come too, and they were troopers!!! After a total of 7.5 miles up hills, down hills, through the trees, through pastures, over fences, over bridges, and in tunnels we made it to the beach...just in time to take the bus back to the fort where we started. Isaac and my parents wanted me to know that the next trip to the "beach" will be by car.

A few highlights of the hike: Isaac went pee-pee outside for the first time (must be nice to be a boy sometimes)...he was very proud of himself and said he "went potty like a sprinkler"; my parents did a great job and kept a good attitude the whole time; the nice lunch we had in Astoria...I'll be smelling like garlic for days; seeing the Goonie's house (we think we found the right one on the map) and the school from Kindergarten Cop; feeding Abigail while walking over a mile (I really felt like Sacajawea...fitting because we were on the Lewis and Clark trail); and Isaac playing with Mommy in the sand and running from the waves. Another first for Isaac...chewing...and swallowing...his first little piece of gum..."Thanks Grandma DeeDee!" One of his favorite parts of the day was riding the bus...go figure!

Today, my actual 29th birthday, we are going to the fair in the morning. My parents will be coming over for dinner. This evening I am going with some girlfriends to Comedy Sportz while my parents stay with the kids and Chris hangs out with some guys from church. I'll add pics and details later.

***Make sure you click on the link above to see all the pictures (there are some from a little hike we took by our house, a get-together we had at the Johnson's, and from the concert at the park...click on the different dates to see all the pictures).

Few days of fun and concerts

Wow...it's been a few days and I can't even think of what we've been up to. We have been to a few outdoor concerts. Last Thursday night we went with our neighbors to the concert at out local park. I couldn't believe how many people were there! It was a band that you'd expect to work on a cruise ship that played swing and big band. Isaac LOVED the instruments.

Yesterday, we went to a concert at our Church. It was a group called Rescue. They are amazing vocally and were acapella. One of the guy was a skilled vocal "percussionist." Isaac would be listening to the music and suddenly say, "I hear a train" or "It sounds like fireworks," because he'd hear a "CH-CH-CH" sound the guy was making or a hi-pitched sound. He is a really good listener and has a good ear (which is why I should expect him to obey me first time...but there is obviously a difference between listening and doing).

Hear a bit of RESCUE

Our sweet Abigail is growing so big. She's in the 90-95% for head, length and weight. Though she's a whopping 18lbs. she is all in proportion. She finally started rolling from tummy to back yesterday!!! Yippee!!


Isaac has grown really loving toward his sister recently. When we first brought her home, he was very jealous and hit her in anger. Now, he (without being told to) will go lay next to her, give her kisses on her face, let her chew on his finger and grab his face, and say, "Hi, sweet Abigail." It makes my heart melt.


~Our boy is getting braver...he's jumping at the Johnsons~

Our ducks don't eat popcorn!

Just out of the bath,
Abigail has curls like Daddy

I love my "ice cream"

~I have 2 teeth growing~

~I love feeding the ducks~

Just a few fun things...Isaac went to the free kids' movie the Regal offers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the summer. He sat with his friend Kian and did a great job. He really likes Kian and really thought he was big stuff going to the movies and eating popcorn. It was really cute. I think I'm going to try to go every week...hey, it's free! Abigail did great too. She chewed her toy and ate and fell asleep. She didn't make a peep!

So today we went to the big library by our house that has some small lakes behind it with loads of hungry ducks. We brought bread to feed them. Isaac did a good job breaking the bread into small pieces to throw to the ducks. After we finished the bread, we got out the left-over popcorn we had from the movies. It was just popped with a little bit of oil, no salt, no butter. As soon as we threw it out, the few ducks that tried to eat it, spit it out. The other ducks just turned their bills up and swam away. Funny, because I remember that my dad and I would pop a big bag of popcorn up and feed the ducks when I was in 4th grade. Maybe the ducks have developed different taste buds these days because of global warming or evolution...just kidding. ;)

This evening we all had dinner outside and I braved using the BBQ for the very first time! I have to say that it was actually pretty fun. I love my husband so much!!! My son is getting more clever by the day. I cannot believe the things he thinks of, the things he remembers and the conversations he has with us...it's REALLY fun.

Here are PICTURES FROM TODAY

Crazy Mom Moments

Some days I think, "Man, I could have 10 more kids (especially if they were adopted and I didn't have to be pregnant, give birth, or lose baby weight)." I realize that is mostly due to how easy my baby girl is. From day one, she only fusses or cries if something is the matter (hungry/tired). If she is on her schedule, it's nearly impossible to get her to cry (well, now I can make her cry easily...just by feeding her solids...but that is another blog).

Then, I am at the park on Monday...It all started with my bright idea to put out a blanket with Abigail's toys, so she could play while Isaac played on the slide. Normally I just leave the baby in the stroller or in the backpack/front pack while Isaac plays, but I wanted to let Abigail have more opportunities to move about. With your first baby, you do everything for them...with #2, you just try to get through the day. Since Abigail is not rolling yet, I realize that I should not keep her as cooped up as I do....BIG MISTAKE!!

As soon as I get the lunch out and the toys out on the blanket, Isaac declares, "I have to go potty Mommy!" Knowing that I only have a few minutes before he goes in his pants, I scramble to get the baby and all the food and baby stuff back in the stroller (the bananas didn't survive). We make it to the bathroom, but my boy has to get comfortable and the girl is crying...figures...the poop takes a while to come out. Finally we make it out of there, but the girl is really flustered and I can't calm her down (did I mention that the bathroom is in the LIBRARY next to the park???). I break out the boob in the story-time room that is, thankfully, not in use at the moment. As I'm feeding the crying girl, I grabbed some books to read to the boy. So, she is eating, I am reading, and things seem fine. Just then, the boy says, "I have to go potty, Mommy!!!!" So, I take the baby off the boob, throw everything back in the stroller and head back to the bathroom. Abigail is furious now...never interrupt a chubby baby in the middle of lunch! She's wailing uncontrollably. Isaac is yelling, "Mommy, push the penis down!" (which is what I have to do for Isaac on the big potty so it doesn't spray everywhere) as I try anything to quiet Abigail. As I go to help him, he starts imitation Abigail's screams (which he's VERY good at, by the way) and I am ready to scream too...and run out of the bathroom and pretended that these are not MY children.

Somehow, we manage to get out of there (did I mention that Isaac had diarea???) with hands washed and everyone still in one piece (including me). As I'm pushing the stroller as fast as I can out of the library, I'm getting all of the "what's wrong with you/your kids?" and the "I'm glad those aren't my kids" stares. :) Note to self: be careful not to give those looks to other moms I see in public.

In those moments, I was ready to call it quits and say, "We're done having kids!!!" A few moments later, however, Abigail passed out cold asleep and Isaac couldn't have been sweeter. Then God reminded me that He won't give me beyond what I can handle, He will never leave me nor forsake me, and It's not me...It's all His strength anyway. 2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

All that said, we just mailed off our paperwork for our adoption. We are planning to follow through with the embryo adoption we were pursuing right before we had Isaac. We are SO EXCITED for the chance to give the little life waiting to be born and chance to have a heartbeat...to breathe...to see...to smell....to hear. It still amazes me that there are 400,000+ little lives frozen in time in the USA. Only God knows what is going on with their little souls as they are frozen there. Please pray for us; we plan to have the babies put in in Jan or March, 2009...we could have triplets.


Here is more on what we're doing:EMBRYO ADOPTION

Fun on the Coast

Well, it's bound to happen...you can actually be so busy that you don't have time to write about it on your blog. :)

We went to the coast for the night and stayed at our amazing 2BR condo/timeshare. The kids were amazing, the view was amazing, and we had the best time!!! We loved watching and listening to the ocean waves crashing. We were in awe of God's awesomeness as we tried to grasp the massive ocean and all that it contains. It's still amazing to think that the God who holds the stars in the sky & created the earth and all that it contains knows the numbers of hairs on our head and loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die on our behalf...AMAZING! God's creation just calls out His majesty.

PSALM 19:1,2
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

Anyway, we enjoyed every meal in the condo out on the patio...we even snuggled in blankets in the morning and watched the ocean. As we watched, we even saw TWO WHALES!!! Right outside our condo, two (at least 2) were swimming around. It was so exciting.

Isaac's highlights from the trip: *Eating a lollypop *Making Nemo and Dory in the sand*Seeing anemones and fish in the tidepools*Going to Grammy Bernie's house and seeing the dogs, riding the tractor/lawnmower, and seeing fireworks.

***Below, I attached a link to see more pictures...let me know if it works...

Grammy Bernie

See more pics of OUR TIME AT THE COAST...

Pool with Tyler Jordan

We were blessed with spending the afternoon with our friends, the Jordans. Matt and Jessica and Tyler came to swim with us. It was really fun. Isaac pushed Tyler around in the crab "boat" and Abigail snuggled with mommy.

Tyler ~6 months

The Jordans

http://www.costcophotocenter.com/album/photos_view.aspx?q=bVIYUTrhP0cNPW9iY,IfnQ--

Hopefully, If you click the link above, you can see all the photos from the last few days of fun in the sun.

It has cheese on it!

Our son is at such a fun age. The things he says could make Bill Cosby laugh. He says a lot of things that make our hearts melt too. He fully memorized a few books from the library (Bryron Barton books on trucks and machines). He brain just amazes us.

Last night Isaac was eating pasta with spinach and turkey and some almond slivers. For those who don't know, he has mojor food allergies (dairy, peanuts, eggs, and probably other nuts, fish and shellfish). Anyway, he was looking at Daddy's pasta, which has parm cheese on it, and said, "Daddy, I want to eat that." Daddy replied, "No son, it has cheese on it...it will hurt you." About 20 minutes later, Isaac has eaten all of his food except for his almonds. He keeps insisiting that it's yucky and we keep telling him that it's good for him. Finally he blurt out, "I can't eat it...it has cheese on it!!!" Chris and I just looked at each other and laughed...of course we still made him finish it all, but his efforts to avoid the food were amusing.

This morning he was talking to Daddy, about who he loves. Daddy said, "Do you love Daddy?" Isaac said, "Isaac love Alora...A LOT!" I think the unprovoked comments like that are the cutest.

Oh, I just threw in the pics of the tent I built over Isaac's bed after his nap yesterday. It was fun. I loved forts/tents as a kid...and still do.

Sometimes Grammas Can Do What Moms Can't

So far, our chubby little baby girl has not liked anything we have few her. With Isaac, I started making baby food right away and freezing food cubes because it's so good for him and much less money. With Isaac, I also fed him milk first and gave him solids after (so he'd take enought milk). WIth Abigail, I try to feed her when she's hungry (even before milk) in hopes that she's more willing to eat, and I'm giving her jarred food because it'll be less waste if she won't eat it. It's amazing how kids are so different...even if you parent them the same. Isaac liked every food I ever gave him (when it was blended...he was picky later with textures). Abigail, on the other hand, hasn't like one think she's tried. So far cereal, banana, pear, and peas have all been YUCK to her. She actually started to cry when I was feeding her last night....and hardly anything makes her cry....it's actually difficult to make her cry. She would turn her head, try to cover her mouth or stick her thumb in her mouth to block the food or push every bite out with her tongue and then keep her tongue out (which she only does when we feed her) to keep us from putting the spoon in her mouth. Daddy and I were laughing at how much she dislikes to eat solids. If you see the video, you can see that she even turns her head away and tries to hide her mouth. I guess these are all normal signs that a baby is not ready for solids (and she's not waking at night because she's hungry or anything), so I guess we'll wait and try agian in a few weeks...one less thing for me to do...that's fine with Mommy.

The reason for the title of this post is because Grandma DeeDee came over today and was able to get Abigail to keep down 5 bites. I still wouldn't saw she was happy about it, but hey, she kept them down. This is the same grandma who got Isaac to like the swings during one trip to the park (after I'd been working at it for months with no results). Sometimes it just takes a grandma to step in. :)

I have been listening to sermons online during the kids' naps and it's been really good for me. I was listening to one yesterday that was really good. It was how we are "slaves" to Christ. It was so encouraging to me. Some may say, "How is it encouraging to be called a slave?" (the sermon address that term specifically...it's very interesting to listen to)...but there is so much freedom and joy in being a slave to a perfect loving Master.

Here is the link if you want to hear it.

http://www.gty.org/Video/

**Copy and paste it then click on the "Slaves for Christ" video

Happy 4th of July

I have to go back and fill you in on the 3rd before we give highlights on the 4th.
Abigail & Gma DeeDee

Isaac's new facial expression...

I am so proud of the job we did finishing the play structure in Grandma and Papa's backyard. It took 4 days of working on it (2 with hubby as a team and 2 by myself...with gma and papa helping hold things here and there). If I do say so myself, I impressed myself with my ability to work with power tools. I'm a handy woman. Anyway, when it was done, Isaac loved playing with the "park." We raced each other down the slides. Isaac kept saying, "Mommy, you go on this one...say 'ready, set go.' " He also loves the tire swing. He got on in all by himself. If you don't know his personality, he is a talker and not a doer...and he is very timid with anything new. He's more likely to give me a short lesson on all the types of vehicles that use tires, what color they are, and how they have tread than he'd likely try to climb on it...especially if it is swinging from chains. So, for him to successfully climb on the tire swing, it was very impressive to me. Here are pics and video of the "park" in Grandma's backyard.





Now "Happy 4th of July!!!" Though we filled our day with the typical 4th events...parade, BBQ, fireworks, and wearing red, white & blue, we cannot help but stop and thank God for how truly blessed we are to live in this country and have the freedom to worship Christ without the fear of being put to death (as in a lot of other countries). Both Chris and I come from families where relatives have served our country. We also have dear friends that have recently served and were willing to sacrifice their own lives for us at home...going about our normal, daily routine. It is a reminder of those who are still in uniform as I type this...Please remember to pray for our troops. The Bible says:

1. John 15:13
   Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
   
2. 1 John 3:16
   This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
3. John 10:11
   "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Let us not forget why we have a day off...

So, here is what we did today:
We walked to the parade with some neighbors (Isaac wants me to mention Kian, Summer & Johnny). Chris and I went to Home Depot the night before and got stakes to block off our spot for the parade...and it was actually there when we arrived (we thought someone would take it because it was so crowded at the parade). It was so fun!!! The weather was perfect temp (aside from the fact that it rained during our whole walk home). Even though we went last year, this year was so much better because we went with friends and Isaac was so excited about everything this year. He loved being with his friends, running into the street to get candy (he was allergic to and couldn't eat), waving to all the people going by and seeing all the bands, tractors, fire trucks, police motorcycles, and anything that had an airplane on it. One of the last floats was Trader Joe's, so Isaac was able to eat his very FIRST lolly-pop...he was very excited.

Balloon Airplanes (mentioned later)
Very first lolly-pop

Johnny (just a few weeks older that Isaac)...If you see the video with Johnny, you'll notice that he is playing air guitar while watching the band go by...he's Isaac best buddy.

Abigail & Kayla (6 months)
Kian (4yrs)


Summer (just over 1 year)

After all that fun, we went to Grandma DeeDee's and Papa's house with our friends Steve, Christina, Alora & Elijah. We could not have had a better time. The older kids are at an age where they play very well together. Alora & Isaac had so much fun stamping, playing in gma's "park," riding bikes together, drawing with sidewalk chalk, and having a picnic together on the grass (thanks to Papa who made ribs and potato salad). The babies were so good all day too (Grandma DeeDee helped see to that). It was the perfect combo of fun and rest. It is such a praise to have family nearby.
Cousin Elijah (8 months)

Cousin Alora

Abigail & Daddy

Eating blueberries with Papa

Drawing with Grandma DeeDee

Aunt Christina

Chistina and I have been friends since 7th grade so it is fun to be together as adults and have our kiddos grow up together. We had some good laughs around the table taking about all the things we got ourselves in to as teens. It's nice for my parents to see that all their hard work paid off with us (I'm sure they had their doubts at certain times when I was younger and pretty rotten). All glory be to Christ who came in and changed my heart and continues to change my life to be more and more like Him.

Back from the rabbit trail...After BBQ, we lit fireworks, and Isaac LOVED them. He couldn't get enough! He kept saying, "Again! Another one!" On the drive home from Gma & Papa's, Isaac was enthusiastically thanking God for everything that happened that day. It sounded a bit like this: "Thank you God for...Summer...and...Kian....and Alora...and Johnny...and tractors...and...real firetrucks...and Uncle Steve...and...lolly-pops...and Papa...and balloon airplanes...and fireworks...and...um, Aunt Christina...and ribs...and...Johnnny eating lolly-pops too...and eaing corn on the cob with Alora...and green fireworks...and yellow fireworks too...and Grandma...and Isaac eating lolly-pops...and loud fireworks...

Just when we thought the day was over (and you thought this HUGE BLOG ENTRY was over), Isaac and Daddy had more fun. After arriving home and putting baby girl to bed, Isaac went with Daddy to the community park and watch all the neighbors do fireworks. Chris told me that Isaac sat on his lap, drinking his milk and watched the fireworks in awe. He would take a sip of milk and then hand to to Chris (in order to have free hands to clap at the display) and say, "Daddy hold milk...look Isaac clapping for fireworks." He finally went to bed at 10:30 or so and slept in this morning.

What a FUN day!!!!!!