Out on the Farm

Spending time together with family is one way that makes my heart feel fuller, the smile on my face bigger, and the love for my family grow stronger. Dale took a random day off yesterday and when we woke up, we didn't quite know how we were planning on spending the day but we quickly decided on driving out to my parents for the day. When we usually go over there, we spend a few hours, usually for dinner. Yesterday, we spent the entire day there and it was a day full of cherished family time and relaxation. Most of all, for me, I absolutely love seeing my parents interact with Everett. We left Everett in his pajamas so to allow for more easy, comfy snuggling from Grandma and Poppa!

There's always so many things for Everett to see and explore. You can see the new fascination in his eyes and we always leave there tired and over-stuffed from my mom's delicious cooking. Her garden is in full bloom of vegetables right now and we had such a filling and hearty lunch and dinner. We know it's always time to say good-bye and head home when we see the restless daze and tiredness in Everett's eyes.

As always, it was another great time out on the farm!

Growing Up

They say that babies develop more in their first year than they do at any other period in their life. I never disbelieved this fact but see more of the truth in it as I have been able to observe, guide, and share this time with Everett. In the last month, he has hit more milestones than I have seen in the time span of the last 8 months. He received his first 2 teeth, gets up on all fours, gets groovy with his own version of what is "dancing", tries pulling himself up, scoots himself backwards.... just to name a few.

Within the past several days, he's been getting up on his knees to play

He's getting a little curious now with food, but still wants nothing to do with the mesh feeder.

I recently went on a toy-buying binge and needless to say, he's still more into playing with non-toy items. I have noticed though, that the water bottle never fails.

And if you notice, he's got a little more groove to his dance!

Cheers to new milestones! And speaking of new, I tried a new recipe last night out of my Family Circle magazine. Middle Eastern Stuffed Zucchini. It was a mouthful of healthy deliciousness!

I miss my sleep

I love Everett. I love everything about him, but I have to honestly admit that I really miss my sleep. We met Dale's mom for coffee this morning at 6:30am and she took one look at me and said, "you look exhausted." I always feel tired but never thought it showed on my face. I must look like crap. Ha.

Everett has been getting up and starting his day around 4am lately. We've tried everything to try to get him to fall back asleep but feeding him, changing his diaper, or rocking him has led to no such luck. While he has never slept with us, I even tried bringing him to bed but it only got him all excited and playful.

As usual, I just blame it on teething or refer to him just "going through another phase of some sort."

He is starting to pull himself up onto things and getting on all fours. He'll rock himself back and forth with a fierce look on his face that he wants to go somewhere but can't figure out how to move himself.

I know this won't last forever and someday soon, I'll know what it's like to get a good night's sleep.

Playdate #2 {Belated Blog Post}

Amber, Tiffany, and I got our boys together for another fun playdate this past Sunday. The last time we got together was in May. Since then, we have attempted a handful of times to set a time to get together but if it wasn't one kiddo sick, it was the other.

They graciously made the drive out to my place and we enjoyed lunch and shopping in Gresham Station. Old Navy and Children's Place had all their Fall clothing in and we were all able to get some shopping done for the boys.

It was great to see them interacting with one another and how much more responsive they were to each other than they were at 5 months.

Ethan and Nicholas are adorable little boys and their mothers are such wonderful ladies. I feel really blessed to have met them and it is so fun getting together with them and having our boys spend time together. I can't wait until our next playdate!

Wasian boy can dance

Well, here is Everett's first attempt to dance. He's not quite shaking his groove thing but I'm sure he'll be shaking that tail in no time!

Current Read {Japan Took The J.A.P Out of Me by Lisa Fineberg Cook}

"Six days after an InStyle-worthy wedding in Los Angeles, Lisa Fineberg Cook left behind her little red Jetta, her manicurist of ten years, and her very best friend for the land of the rising sun. When her husband accepted a job teaching English in Nagoya, Japan, she imagined exotic weekend getaways, fine sushi dinners, and sake sojourns with glamorous expatriate friends. Instead, she's the only Jewish girl on public transportation, and everyone is staring. Lisa longs for regular mani/pedis, valet parking, and gimlets with her girlfriends, but for the next year, she learns to cook, clean, commute, and shop like the Japanese, all the while adjusting to another foreign concept -- marriage. Loneliness and frustration give way to new and unexpected friendships, the evolution of old ones, and a fresh understanding of what it means to feel different -- until finally a world she never thought she'd fit into begins to feel home-like, if not exactly like home."

Yesterday's Blog

As Everett is getting older, the amount of spare time on my hands has been withering, little by little; hence the reason why today's blog entry is in fact yesterday's. While I've missed having extra time to do this or that for myself, I love seeing Everett becoming more and more social, adaptive, and responsive to me and everything around him.

Dale and I finally gave in and purchased the Leap Frog Learn and Groove Musical Table. He loves it, and especially loves turning the page in the middle of the table. Back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth. I think that's pretty much all he does right now so I'm working on getting him responsive to the other activities on the table.

I spend a lot of my days doing whatever I can to put a smile on Everett's face or to hear him laugh. Lately, I've been shamelessly forcing my face into the strangest and weirdest of faces, which I'll spare you and will not share photos, but it as gotten those big smiles and laughs that I love.

Even so, while I'm able to put a smile on Everett's face, he's always able to put one on mine, as well.

Besides Everett News, I tried my hand out on Shrimp Stir Fry Yakisoba. It was delicious and Dale announced it was one of his favorite dishes. Looks like I'll be making it more often.

Off to Grandma's and Grandpa's We Go!

It had been awhile since we had been out to my parent's to visit and they were sure missing Everett so we took him out yesterday evening and enjoyed some much needed time there and a delicious Summer dinner out on their beautiful, covered patio.

Everett loves watching Grandma whistle.

Cheezin' for the camera.

Current Read {Blue Water by A. Manette Ansay}

"On an ordinary morning in Fox Harbor, Wisconsin, Meg and Rex Van Dorn's lives are irrevocably changed when a drunk driver slams into Meg's car, killing the couple's six-year-old son, Evan. In a town in which everyone knows everybody else, it's no surprise that Meg and the driver, Cindy Ann Kreisler, were once the best of friends. Now, as Meg recovers from her own injuries, she and Rex find themselves unable to cope with their anger and despair, especially after Cindy Ann returns — with a mere slap on the wrist — to the life she lived before the accident: living in a beautiful house, enjoying her own three daughters, all of whom walked away from the accident unharmed."

"In their rage and grief, Meg and Rex buy a boat to sail around the world, hoping to put as much distance between themselves and Cindy Ann Kreisler as possible. Adrift in the company of other live-board cruisers, Meg tries to believe that she and Rex have left their bitterness behind. But when she returns to Fox Harbor for her older brother's wedding, she is forced to face the complex ties that bind her to the woman who has wounded her so badly. For, as Meg knows better than anyone, Cindy Ann has secrets and sorrows of her own, dating back to the summer of their friendship."

"Impassioned, insightful, and beautifully written, Blue Water is the story of people learning to face the unthinkable — a compelling affirmation of the human potential for forgiveness, redemption, and grace."

Lincoln City

Time away + beach = fun. This was the equation we had in mind when we headed to Lincoln City but it wasn't quite what Everett had in mind.

We were so excited to get out of time for a few days with both Dale's and my work being so busy lately. We hadn't been out of town since I was 6 months pregnant last Summer. There was a lot of traffic for a Thursday morning and what should've been a 2 hour drive took us over 3 hours. First of all, Everett hates a 5 minute drive in the car, let alone 3 hours so I'm sure this did not put a good start to this trip.

Needless to say, it was much more stressful than fun. He didn't enjoy the beach; cried and fussed the entire time so we got in about 20 minutes total of beach time, not that the weather was all that great. Meals out allowed Dale and I to get in a few bites each before he started crying which led to evil stares our direction. Our night there, he was up from 2:30-5:00am and up for the day at 7am.

We've decided to wait until Everett's a little older before we attempt another out-of-town trip.

We were able to get a few smiles out of him but trust me, it took the silliest and weirdest faces we could make to get him to offer a little smile.



He wasn't even phased by the ocean. He thought his binky string was the best thing at that moment.



The weather was mostly cloudy. It was sunny for a few hours when we first got there though.

Wedding Anniversay

Today, I celebrate one wonderful year of marriage to the man of my dreams. One wonderful year ago, we celebrated our love and commitment together with our family out at my parent's beautiful farm.

8 Months Today!

Everett is 8 months today! Can you believe it?! I sure can't! He has turned into quite the little man with such character and attitude. He is so giggly and smiley and happy but will let you know if he does not like something. Try giving him a toy he doesn't want to play with and he'll take it from your hands and throw it down. I am probably to blame for that little attitude. ;) My husband told me he gets his stubbornness and attitude from me. Thanks babe, I'm glad we figured out who he inherited that from.

At 8 months, Everett:

-takes 6 oz of formula every 3 hours
-half to one jar of solids a day
-sits up unassisted like a champ
-rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy
-loves playing with calculators and remotes (his current favorite "toys")
-loves going for walks
-sleeps without a swaddle (finally!)
-goes to bed around 7pm and will sleep til 6am-7am (on good days)
-is a total momma's boy
-smiles A LOT
-thinks fart noises are the funniest thing
-tries rolling onto his tummy every. single. time you try to change him
-has one tooth with another on its way
-loves banging toys on the floor
-naps in his crib (finally!)

...just to name a few.

Happy 8 months, Everett!

My happy clam


He spent the afternoon with his buddies, Cameron and Ethan today!