Sunday, May 31, 2009

Who needs a pool when you have a lil red wagon!

Greetings! Let the summer fun begin. LeAnne absolutely loves playing in the water. Now that the weather is going to be consistently nice I will be setting up her adorable kiddie pool next weekend but up until now she had had a blast playing with water in her lil red wagon and buckets.
Random dinner cuteness; Tonight at dinner I had LeAnne try a mushroom. She put it in her mouth, quickly spit it out and said "No". The look on her face was priceless. I was laughing so hard! I did ask her to try it one more time and she again said "no" and spit it out.

See our apple tree in the back ground.



Our veggie garden is staring to grow very fast!


Oh this is FUN!



Life is so rough on toddlers! she was very emotional today. She would be very happy one minute and then turn around and throw a fit the next minute.






Extreme close up of LeAnne having fun!



Oh that was COLD!


She loves pouring water!


Getting a drink out of her wagon

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Great trip to Oregon that went flew by too fast!

We had a wonderful trip down to Oregon but it definitely flew by way too fast. It was great to see Amanda and John's folks. I wish we got to see them more often! It felt so good to hug our eldest girl and tell her in person we love her. She's doing good. She gets done with her driver's education course June 4th and already has an appointment to get her driver's license June 5th. She is busy looking for a summer job and looking forward seeing her favorite band (Green Day) in concert in Seattle in July and being able to drive herself this summer to do things with friends. She sure got a kick out of her lil sister.

LeAnne did very well with the LONG car trips. It took us 6.5 to 7 hours. We made a few stops each way to let her run around and snack. She slept very well in the car and we only had a few minor melt downs. On the way back we stopped at Multnomah Falls in Oregon. That was is a beautiful place! While at Grammy & Grampy's lil girl handled the changes well. She had fun playing with Grammy's toys, slept pretty well and was in good spirits. She started to warm up to Grammy & Grampy and even gave Grammy a kiss before we left on Sunday. I sure do wish we could see them more so LeAnne could get to know them.

LeAnne first trip to the zoo was a lot of fun! We think she really enjoyed herself. She was oohing and ahhing at all the animals that moved and was very brave to pet the goats at the petting farm. She didn't think much of the monkey's because they were not quite as animated as Disney's Oooh & Aaah. LOL!!

Overall it was a great trip. Thank-you Grammy & Grampy for everything! You always make us feel so welcome & it's fun to catch up.

Hi Dad, look at the Elephants.



Taking a walk at Grammy N Grampy's.



Out for a walk, LeAnne was inspecting dad's hair.




She loves being on daddy's shoulders!




Having fun at the Portland Zoo



Our girls!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Thankful Thursday & Off to Oregon in the morning!

I am so thankful this day is here because that means we are leaving for Oregon in the morning! I can't wait to lay my eyes on our beautiful older daughter, then I am going to give her a big mama bear hug! Oh I miss her so much! I am excited to watch our girls interact and be sisters! Of course we are way excited to see Grammy & Grampy too! Were looking forward to our trip to the zoo as well. I am not looking forward to the drive tomorrow. I think it will take us about 6-7 hours depending on the number and length of our rests stops. Prayin its a good trip!

I am very thankful for my husband and our wonderful marriage! May 19th we celebrated our 8th anniversary. Inside the beautiful card my hubby got me he wrote "8 years isn't nearly enough time to spend with you. Here's to 80 more"! He was off work that day so he & LeAnne went to town to get mama flowers & run a few other errands. My sister told my mom (she works at the pharmacy in town) that she looked out her window and saw the cutest baby walking down the street with her daddy, then went Hey that's LeAnne & John. LOL!! I am so blessed!

Of course I am very thankful for our little lady LeAnne! She's now saying "uh oh", ow, and is quite the serious artist. She is coloring for longer periods of time, using different colors and starting to make circles.

I took this picture tonight when she was doing anything she could to stay awake. She saw her Easter hat on her dresser and said "peas" so I let her have it for a bit. She would wear it, then throw it up in the air, and then put it on her horse Lucky. It was too cute!


I am oh so thankful for my Savior. One of my nieces sent this poem to me today.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Hey there! This week I am going to upload a few pictures of my family, that I am very very thankful for! Oh and also a very precious video of my two favorite people. LeAnne got the biggest kick out of John laughing all funny. She loves to play with her daddy!

Looking adorable! Thank-you Daddy for taking me to get my hair cut today!





Lookin out our front window at the birds!







Monday, May 11, 2009

Mother's Day

Having a blast playing with a Willow tree branch!



Playing with a Dandelion



Such a sweet picture!


Girl power! This girl loves playing with sticks!


What a difference a year makes. I am so thankful to have John home this Mother's day, he was still in Arkansas this time last year. I can't believe how much LeAnne has changed since last Mother's Day. (click the link to see last year) She is still adorable, still our busy little bee but this year she is trying very hard to talk with her newest words being something that sounds like cheese (her fave food) and a version of thank-you that she uses sometimes. She is running instead of walking, did her first painting project with a paint brush on Sunday (she's not ready for painting), she's our picky eater, and we bought her a cushie tushie seat for the toilet this weekend. I am going to start by weaning her from the bottle once I am out of school and by the end of Summer I hope to have potty training started. Oh we can't forget she's sleeping through the night and mama is definitely more alert!

I love being a mama! I am sure like many mom's I wish I could find someone to pay me to be a SAHM. It can certainly be challenging and I am learning every day! I am so thankful God blessed our life with our daughters. I love them very very much! I love watching them grow up and it's a blessing to get to see the world again with a fresh set of eyes. I am thankful for the amazing husband and daddy God blessed my life with!

We had a rather low key Mother's day. I was able to watch part of the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, so far it's pretty good, then hung out at home playing with LeAnne & getting chores done while John worked in our yard and then we made dinner for my mama. John got me a few really cute cards and thanks to him I have peace of mind our memories are protected (external hard drive) and I'll smell good. (Forever perfume). I love you honey!! I'd love to show you a in work picture of his hard work in the yard but he wants to wait until its complete to post pictures. We now have an old lawn mower, & blow in our planting beds. It's looking GREAT!

Happy Mother's Day!

Monday, May 4, 2009

A little bit of randomness from mamabear...

Good Morning! It's Monday, the beginning of another work week, I am feeling a bit worn out but full of random thoughts so here goes, randomness from mama bear.

26 1/2 days of school left...
but who's counting, oh just wait until I start counting the hours! 3 months off is going to be so awesome!

Memorial Day is a yes & Summer is a No...
Amanda will be spending Memorial Day weekend with us. We will go down to Oregon Friday the 22nd, and come home Sunday the 24th. It will be nice so nice to see our girl! I am so excited she gets to be with her sister the first time she goes to the zoo. I am happy for her but sad for us that she won't be spending the summer with us. I am happy for her because she is trying to get a job a swim instructor. That will be a fun experience for her. Our girl is growing up. Sniff, sniff...
My dad & Elaine coming for a visit...

Dad & Elaine are going to stay with us on Wednesday night on their way to some place else. He told me but I forgot. It will be a quick visit, not much time together since were all working but it will be great to see them none the less. Hopefully they'll stay a bit longer in Father's day weekend.
LeAnne's 18 month check up
LeAnne had her 18 month check up last Wednesday. She weighs 23 pounds 7 ounces, and is 32 3/4 inches long. She's completely healthy and was NONE to happy to be there. She cried almost the whole time and kept heading for the door. When I asked our Dr about weaning her from the bottle he recommended doing it soon and the best way he's found is just go cold turkey. Take all her bottles away. YIKES! I am going to wait until I am out of school so I can be with her. Her next check up is at 2 years but no more shots until she's 4 years old. Wahooo!!

See my new night gown & my Tonka truck that I love!


Oh so seriously checking out her new Veggie Tales book. She loves to look at books & is getting better about letting me read the stories to her. :-)


The new words are coming quicker now...
LeAnne is now saying; kitty, kitty, oh no (with her oh so serious face), all gone, and she says something that starts with a b when she sees a bird but it's not quite bird. She's trying hard to talk. I need to teach her the sign for milk so I can stop saying "ba, ba" to making weaning easier, I hope...
LeAnne's 1 year scrapbook is...
so close to being completed. I finished her 1st birthday layouts this weekend. I want to do a two page layout with 6 pics on each page, a picture for each of month in her first year. Plus their are a few family pictures I want to scrap and of course what baby book would be complete without a page about her messy days. LOL! The rest of the pictures I will put into a nice photo album and journal next to them. Then it's onto the next year. Geesh I must figure out how to pair down on the pages I scrap because at this rate she'll have 18 scrap books!
Thankful Thursday
will be back this week. I ran outa steam last week. I am always thankful for plenty just didn't get to writing it down last week.

Stellan is home and
doing wonderful! MckMama is happily settling back into her somewhat normal life with her happy meal. I know Prince Charming & the 3 other children must be glad to have mama & brother back home. Stellan wears a heart monitor when he sleeps, McKmama keeps a close eyes and he has daily medications. It seems the trip to Boston was a success! Thank-you for all your prayers! Please keep praying!

My heart aches...
for those facing infertility, the loss of a child, a sick child and/or a hurting relationship. My prayers are with them.

Praying Nathaniel Riley will be home in his mama's arms by Mother's Day...
An very cool mama I met while trying to get pregnant has adopted a beautiful daughter and now they're adding a little boy to the family. They've met a few times, and they're hoping he will be coming home SOON! Praise God!

I LOVE being a mama!
It feels good to say my daughter or our daughter. I am so thankful our lil girl likes to snuggle! I love snuggling with her, kissing her head and smelling her hair. I love her smiles. I love watching her explore the world and I love watching her be adventurous. Being a parent isn't always easy for sure, sometimes my patience wears thin, I am learning I can try to make a plan but all plans are subject to change and I must go with the flow. Sometimes I ponder life before LeAnne, I'll admit I miss some of the freedom & adult time but given the opportunity I wouldn't change a thing. I LOVE being a mama! I look forward to my future as a mama. Is their another baby in our future? That question is yet to be answered. It would be nice for LeAnne to have a sibling, a brother would be way cool, I want to experience pregnancy/child birth once more, but could I handle sleep deprivation when I have to work? Can we afford 2 children? Will we struggle to get pregnant again? All these questions to be answered in His time, not ours!

Well I must get myself ready to walk out the door. Hoping and praying my student isn't too bad today. Monday's can be a struggle. Lucky LeAnne gets to be with daddy for 2 days! I am oh so thankful to have my hubby home the next 2 nights cause I've missed him this weekend! It looks like it is going to be a nice day! Yahooo! I have a mother's day post turning around in my head so we'll see if it gets out. Have a blessed week!

Love ya lots!

Mama Bear