July and August

Okay, as it turns out having a blog is easy keeping it updated is hard. I am way behind. I will do my best to update.
As I walked through the park today I noticed that some of the leaves on the trees are starting to change. Although we were running the AC just two days ago, tonight I wished we were having soup for dinner and I have had 3 cups of tea today. Times they are a changin'. Jonah learned to crawl this month. As you can see from the video above. He has enjoyed his new freedom and mobility.

Auntie K and Jonah 

And change they did. As I look back on July and August I think of fresh veggies from the garden. We ate raspberries the size of quarters and Swiss Chard until I did not know what else to do with it. Many evenings were filled with sitting on the back porch listening to the sprinklers and drinking Mojitos after Jonah went to sleep.


Olive, Chris, Penny, and Jonah enjoying the skateboarding contest in the park.

 The 4th of July was spent in Waldport for the second year in a row Kyle's sister Kari was there as well. Kyle and I stood on the beach and watched the fireworks in the distance as Jonah slept inside the coast cabin. What a delightful way to celebrate. Jonah sat up all by himself for the first time while we were at the coast too.

We had some great visitors Justus and Becca from New York City came to play with us at the coast. I have to say a special thanks to the staff at the Best Western Inn in Newport Oregon. I had booked our rooms for the wrong days in a crazy fit of mommie brain and the staff gave us the two rooms that they hold for emergencies and gave us the week day price.
Jonah spends most of his time these days crawling, and lifting himself up onto his feet. He is also "talking" quite a bit. He speaks in what we call his dragon voice. This voice is deep and very scratchy. It is a crack up to hear that voice coming from such a little guy.

Jonah with Mor Mor and Papa on the 4th of July in Florence

Jonah's audition for the Lion King as Mufasa of course!

We spent a great weekend camping with some of Kyle's high school friends. On the first night there was a brilliant and thunderous storm. None of us slept through the night, but it was just the right way to introduce Jonah to camping. During the day we enjoyed lots of sun and swimming. Not to mention the excellent company that old friends bring.

CVHS Go fight win! Tami, Kyle, and Amy with the kiddos in packs.

The shirt says it all.

Isaiah, Jonah, and Kyle enjoying some creek swimming.

In July we made the decision after much thought and honestly torture to return to our beloved Tahoe where Kyle will work as a physician assistant.

The weeds out back

 Okay, Mexico really is one of the most beautiful and sunny places in the world and we were there and we have the photos to prove it!

The Kiss

Kyle on our balcony

The pool!

Who doesn't love a little nap on the beach?

*** If you want to see updated pictures and don't have time to read just scroll to the bottom!***
An untended blog is a lot like the weeds out back. You keep meaning to attend to it, but you never do and when you get around to it there is a whole heap of catching up to do. Not to mention some pretty big weeds. In an attempt to keep things simple let's play catch up.

May: In May we celebrated Jonah's half birthday and he got to start eating solid foods. He is quite a gastronome and enjoys everything from rice cereal to broccoli. The only thing he really does not like is squash. May also kicked off the delights of having our own garden that we planted back in March with my Dad and Grandma. We were able to eat bushels of radishes and baby lettuce. It is a joy and a miracle to plant a seed and watch Mother Nature do her thing. I think that must be some of the reason that it tastes so darn good. The month of May also gave us an opportunity to cheer on Kyle's dad in the Pole Peddal Paddle in Bend. He and his team mate Pete had fun and finshed in record time. IT is always such a joy to see Jonah with his MorMor and Papa. Their eyes sparkle and love abounds when they are together. I get tons of help from both of them and they often come over on Mondays and watch Jonah so I can run errands (grocery shopping with a baby is not for the faint of heart).

Late in May we had what may have been our most needed vacation ever after a long spell of Kyle working way too hard and not a drop of vitamin D flowing in our veins from lack of sun. We traveled to Sayulita, Mexico with friends from Tahoe. I felt like the trip did CPR on my soul with the company of friends some sunshine, qt with Kyle, and walks on the beach. There was also homecooked meals prepared in the house we were staying in that we did not have to cook.  Kyle surfed (the only downside was he lost his wedding ring in the surf). It was probably a small price to pay to the ocean gods because I saw Kyle really smile from the heart for the first time in months.

June

After returning from Mexico Jonah and I went to visit my parents in Arizona. My grandma Joyce also joined us there. That was a big highlight having Jonah spend time with his great grandma. Because the sun comes up in Arizona at 4 a.m. that is when Jonah was waking up every morning- YIKES! Luckily for me my parents wake up at 4 too, so needless to say they all got to spend the early morning hours together. Uncle Ty also paid us a visit on his way to his new adventure in Jackson Hole, Wy. Jonah got to show off his love of the outdoors with Ty. We spent some great time with my cousin Bear and his kiddos on a outing that included a roasting hotdogs and telling scary stories around the fire. We also welcomed Bear and Jenni's newest addition Clara to the world! Now Jonah is no longer the baby of the family.



I had visits with old friends and it was amazing to reconnect with people I have not seen since the day I graduated from high school. I am so thankful that I was able to see them and talk about the old times as well and eat some humble pie because I was not my best self in high school and I did not always treat people in a way that was kind. They helped me to remember that there was really good parts of high school too.

I spent two great days in Flagstaff spending time with Beth and Lisa who are both having babies this summer.

It was great to be away and get some sun and family and friend time, but I have to say I could not wait to get home to Kyle. Two weeks apart is just way too long. Shortly after my return we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Kyle made me a wind chime that takes my breath away.

I feel like we are all thriving in the month of June (including the garden). I am in awe of all of our abundance.







How does your garden grow?



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April Showers

I wrote this draft forever ago. Now I guess I can finally post it!
As I look back over the month of April the theme of home pops up again and again. It takes time. (we do still feel a bit "lost" both literally and figuratively from time to time). I think that sense of home(ish) comes from us finding some fun places to get coffee when we walk downtown on Sundays. We have also had the opportunity to meet some of our neighbors now that the rain is falling slightly less. I have also joined two mom's groups. Hearing other about other mom's ups and downs has really helped me feel more at "home" as a mom.

Jonah posing as Rugby Man

The Godfather and Alex come to visit

Breakfast with Aunt Kelsi in Hood River

In April we got to go for a weekend to visit Kelsi. The highlight was getting to eat a hand dipped corn dog.

Papa and Jonah

MARRRRCH Madness

Well, we did not pick the winner for the college tourney. We did however host some pretty awesome guests in March!

Jonah staring at the wonder that is Hyfte. 

Uncle Hyfte came to visit from Minnesota. Matt and Berkely also joined us. We enjoyed some beers from the fancy beer store and Jonah logged his first Geo Cash in the cemetery behind our house. I think it may become a great hobby for Jonah in the future. For now his favorite hobby is putting everything in his mouth and screeching like a teradactyl (not at the same time thankfully). He spends a lot of time on his tummy and rolls over from time to time. Really his favorite thing in the whole world these days is getting ready for bed time with Dad. Kyle really works some magic with him because all I hear from the other room is gales of laughter from Jonah. I figure it is a guy thing going on in there so I don't interrupt, but it sure sounds fun.

Auntie Courtney and Jonah 

My dearest childhood friend Courtney came to meet Jonah after being delayed by a terrible cold when she had planned her first visit back in December. Jonah discovered how fun it was to have a auntie around to make everything merry.  Auntie Courtney just so happens to love the baby bjorn (even if she does wish a giant was carrying her instead of her carrying the baby.) We spent the weekend showing off the coast and enjoying our favorite salt water taffy.
Later in March we were lucky to have my Grandma Frances and my dad come for a visit.

The comfort of Grandma's arms 

Grandma and Jonah have a very special bond. They spent hours enjoying the each other's company, singing, laughing, and cuddling. Grandma was able to calm him so easily when he was upset and he spent many an evening sleeping in her safe warm arms. She even made a song for him. . . "Jonah, Jonah eyes of blue. Jonah, Jonah I love you."

We celebrated my Dad's birthday while they were here.  He got to have a blackberry and banana cream pie and he was even willing to share. On Dad's birthday we also had a very rainy picnic at a tulip farm in the area. Sir (my Dad) offered to babysit while Jessie and Grandma and I went shopping. He was the one to discover Jonah can now hold his own bottle.
My Dad in addition to falling deeper in love with Jonah (as if that were possible) captained the garden project. He is a green thumb of the highest degree and poured out his heart and expertise to us as we designed, purchased seeds, prepped the soil, and planted. He also climbed up and down our ladder about a million times to put up a great frame for the tomato plants to grow on. I am already seeing seeds popping up from the radish, peas, and lettuce that we planted. So, with a little help from mother nature we are off to a great start.
The update from the mama front as I continue on this excellent adventure is  . . .  I decided to give up micromanaging for lent. I was just trying to control everything and that is not healthy for me and it is pretty annoying for those around me. It has gone well so far.
Kyle continues to work his tail off. He has also found an ultimate frizbee game he can join on Sundays and he is able to ride his bike to work most days. Both of these things along with spending time with family and friends help to make his free time enjoyable.
April is here and I look forward to what this month will bring.

Happy Birthday Sir!

Granny and Sir . . . yeah!!!!

Granny giving Jonah a bottle.

 At the end of Feb my parents came to Oregon for a visit. 
We spent the first part of the visit at the coast where we hunkered down for a pretty big storm with 70+ mile per hour winds. Needless to say that put Jonah's sleeping through the night to an end, but it is worth it to be on the coast. 
The rest of the time was spent enjoying and getting to know Salem. I also cooked my first turkey dinner with a lot of help from my mom. It turned out great!
My dad and I attended an infant  massage class together and Jonah has been reaping the rewards ever since.
I think the highlight for all of us was hearing Jonah's laughter. He giggles so much when you change his diaper. 
Thanks for the visit mom and dad (granny and sir to Jonah). 
We love you!

Sir and Jonah waiting out the storm.

Jonah and Granny

Our lunch with the Erkkila's in Corvallis

Out for a walk at a park in Salem

Sunshine on our back deck (we can't wait for summer).

I get by with a little help from my friends

Reading Jonah's favorite book "What Snowmen do at Night"

We have moved to our new house! I can't say thank you enough to all of the wonderful friends and family who helped make the move go as smoothly as it did. I sure needed the help because Kyle had the opportunity to ski at a backcountry lodge in Canada during our move. He could not pass up the knee deep untouched powder, fantastic lodging, company of friends, and a long overdue dose of adventure for his playful soul.
Watch a sweet little video by Brian Niles  documenting the trip by clicking here. 
Kyle is wearing a bright blue coat and a helmet. He also had our camera on the trip so I don't have pics of the move.

So, needless to say our community stepped up huge to help out big time with the move. 

Kyle's mom Ellie pretty much hit a grand slam in my book by doing everything from babysitting to unpacking and organizing the entire kitchen. Many times I was ready to hit the showers, but she just kept on trucking.
A special thank you to Kyle's sister Kelsi who came to help with the unpacking.  She worked wonders on Jonah's room and helped me to stay focused. As wonderful as all that help was what was priceless was her  saving me from a pit of lonesomeness in a new town and a new house.
My cousin Jessie and her husband Braedon came over (they live in Salem too!) and they helped so much with finishing touches and watching Jonah.

A little bear in the woods

Our friends have been fantastic throughout the moving process. Sandy came by in the middle of her busy week to come over and play with Jonah while I cleaned our old house. Beckah and the Widmer's our fantastic neighbors opened their homes to Jonah so that he was not home during all the dust and chaos of the move.
We are grateful to all who helped make our move go well. I can honestly say that for me our new house really does feel like a home.
As for Jonah- today he turns 4 months old. All I can say is EVERY day I get to share this big ol' world with him has been a joy beyond words. As all moms will tell you  . . . . he is just amazing.

Jonah's second nordic ski adventure

Kyle continues to work as hard if not harder than he did when he was in school (I did not think that it would be possible to work harder than in his PA program). I am so proud of him and how brilliant and brave he is to be taking on a profession that leaves him humble everyday. As the Grateful Dead would tell you . . . "The first days are the hardest days" that is probably Kyle's theme song for now but he keeps on moving forward even if it is just inch by inch.
As for me I have recently learned how great it is to have help to the car with my groceries or that sometimes the second time is a charm at the post office when you leave your wallet at home on the first try, and the seriously great benefits of exercise released endorphins to fight off the grey days that sometimes come my way.

                                                                                                                            

Inspiration Point Mt. Hood 

We might not have blue sky very often, but these blue eyes more than make up for it. 

The joy of February!

The month of February does not get much love even though it is supposed to be the month where love is celebrated. I have always liked February one because it is  a winter month and I love winter.  Two I think it is amazing we have a holiday that is devoted to love- so much of what our culture is about is frankly not love. It doesn't have to be about romantic love- just love in general. Third I celebrate February because that is the month that Kyle was born!!!! We celebrated this year by taking Jonah to his first hockey game. He really loved it! I think he liked looking at all the lights and spending time with his dad. We got him little noise canceling head phones so the noise of the arena would not hurt his ears and he tolerates them. Although the first time we put them on him we was truly horrified as you can see in the photo below.
We will be moving this Wednesday to our NEW HOUSE in Salem and WE HAVE MOVERS!!!! The only move that was easier was when we had almost no belongings after the house burned down.