Cheese!

Libby has become quite a fan of the camera.  She'll put an effort into just the right pose, and cheese! is a favorite phrase.  Check out the super cool shades. 

Last week we took advantage of some morning sun to spend some time in the backyard.  I'm really looking forward to summer.  Peytie loved hanging out watching her sister, and she got her first tastes of grass in the process.
Little Peytie Fish Face
Shane and Libby share a snuggle at Red Robin.
Peytie sits at the table like a big girl!  She had her first french fries and loved them.
Libby pushes Peyton around the house in her car.
We spent a few days last week with my mom.  Making pudding with Grammy Jane was a highlight for Libby....
Eating it was great too.
Peyton is pulling up to her knees.
I love those little toes.
I was feeling crafty today and used the girls naptime to make them some new hair clips. Despite the fact that she had a pink flower on her head, the pharmacist at Albertsons still thought Peyton was a boy.  Sigh.
Cheese!
Shane had a great day on the river with the boys today.  Libby told me she liked "daddy's fish" and wanted to have her picture taken with it.  Clearly, she was less than enthralled when she realized she'd actually have to get near the fish.  She clung tight to daddy.

Best Friends and Sisters

We've been home for a week, and I've been sewing like crazy which is a good thing.  It hasn't left me much time for blogging, so tonight I'm happy to catch up!  Shane snowboarded almost everyday we were in  Bend.  Check him out here.

Libby wanted to remember the good 'ol days when all she had to do was jump up and down or smile and we clapped like she'd won an Oscar.  These days we still think she's amazing, but I think she wanted to remember life when things were simpler.  She drug the exersaucer from our bedroom to play next to Peyton.  We do have to watch her though, as once she gets in, she cannot get herself out.

Peyton's a little dazed in her high chair.
Libby and Aunt Ju Ju snuggle on Grammy Jane's birthday.
Libby loves sprinkles, so she was in hog heaven.
Posing for a picture on Trigger.  Libby loves to play on Trigger at Grammy Jane's.  She able to climb up and down all by herself now.
Jayden, pleeeeease be my valentine!
Okay, then Jamison yooooouuuuu be my valentine!
Peyton is a much mouthier baby than Libby was.  We have to watch her closely....everything goes in the mouth!  
The girls played in the wing back chairs at Grammy Jane's house.  My mom used to put the chairs together like this when she was a little girl.  She put them together for the girls, and they had a blanket over the top for a tent.  Libby has been playing "tent" since we got home.
"What are you lookin' at?"
The other day was fairly warm, and Libby was dying to play in the backyard with Shane.  We gave her a paintbrush and some warm soapy water, and she had the best time "painting" the sliding glass door.  The door is always covered in smudges from Grunny's wet nose, so it worked out great.  Libby was entertained, she kept Peytie happy (squeals galore) on the other side, and when it dried the door was much cleaner than before.
Libby thought she'd pulled such a prank by painting daddy's boots.  

Snuggles on the floor usually happen in the seven o'clock hour.  Lots of dancing and rough housing right before bed.  If I bring out the camera to capture Peyton, Libby can't stay away.
A rosy-cheeked moment all to herself. And I do mean cheeks!
Truely, I think I'm so lucky to have my family.  Even before the girls came along I knew I'd married my dream man.  He's sweet, funny, has integrity, works hard and for the most part I can't complain.  In the big picture what are a few socks left on the floor?  And the truth is, he's not the only one that drinks from the container.  Here he is raising the next generation of milk guzzler.  If you never drink milk at our house again...I totally understand.  

If it's any consolation we usually have a full gallon in the fridge.  Feel free to open it.
There is something special about a daddy and his daughter.
Guess who's getting ready to crawl?


Libby is a dancer!  She loves to get her groove on at night before bed.  Dance parties are not unusual around here.  Shane's teaching her all of his moves, and if you've ever seen him dance, you know that he has a total of two.  This might be the wheels on the bus, though the sprinkler is a new favorite.

I thought I'd try cottage cheese with Peytie today and it was a big hit.  Only after some green beans and carrots.
I'll end with this....  Tonight at dinner I asked Libby if she was a big girl, or was she still a baby?  She answered with this..."I'm boy."  She's so my kid.

My Mom is a Stud!

A few weeks ago we were in Bend and my mom asked me to read a letter she'd gotten from the athletic department at the U of O.  It was an invitation to former women's basketball players to attend a luncheon, and afterward a women's basketball game.  I read the letter and said, "You played basketball at U of O?"  I knew she played tennis and threw the javelin, but who knew she played basketball too?

Anyway, the luncheon was today and we had a great time.  The purpose of the luncheon was to give the Becky Sisley award to Laurie Tennent, a woman who was an athlete at the U of O who has gone on to have success in her career, and has become a contributor in her community.  When we arrived at the luncheon, my mom gave them her name and they gave us our game tickets and the t-shirt my mom was supposed to wear on the court at half time, where she was to be honored with 14 other former basketball players.  We didn't know she'd be honored on the court at half time, so that was so cool.  I was so proud that she's my mama!

The players wore pink today in honor of breast cancer awarness.  Even the Duck was in pink.  A bonus considering mom's battle with (and defeat of) breast cancer in 2007.

The photo isn't great.  I didn't have my camera, so I snapped it with my phone.  My mom is third from the left.  Green shirt, yellow sleeves.  

Marge Kurtz 1933-2009

We went to Bend last week to celebrate my mom's birthday with Jim, Julane and the boys.  Shane did steaks on the bar-b-que for dinner, Julane made cupcakes with our favorite frosting, mom opened her gifts, and we finished the night by pulling treats tied with ribbon from the "party bowl", a birthday tradition.  Libby spent the night totally enamored with her cousins Jamison and Jayden who she just calls, "boys."

Sadly, on Saturday morning Julane called with the news that Marge, Jim's mom, had passed away suddenly on Friday night.  She was 75.  Marge has been a part of our lives since Julane and I were little girls, and she always made us feel like part of her family.  We will miss her greatly. Marge always called a spade a spade, and it was one of her qualities I liked best.  She was a great cook, a doting grandma, a warm host, a nurse who's advice we asked more than once, and our friend.  When she hosted her own family for holidays we often received an invitation, and we loved going to her house.  She treated our girls like her own grandchildren.

I loved being with her for Wednesday lunches at the golf club, Easter brunch, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and a trip to Shasta years ago.

  

She was actively involved in Trinity Lutheran Church, and volunteered at Trinity Lutheran School in Jamison and Jayden's classrooms.  She also served in the lunchroom.  She was a woman with a strong faith and loved by everyone who knew her.  We'll miss her.

Fishin'

We went to the Sportsman's Show at the fairgrounds on Friday.  Shane couldn't wait to take Libby fishing.  Libby was mostly excited to wear her backpack (like Dora) and to carry (Curious) George.  Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting.

Libby was so bummed that she couldn't climb the rock wall.  We watched some bigger kids, but you have to be four years old to harness up.  Try explaining that to a two year old who loves to climb.  We walked away to screams of, "Climb, climb, climb!"
On Saturday we called Chad and Anna Lisa to see if they'd meet us at the park.  Shane and Chad hit the trail on their long boards, (they stopped and talked a lot) and Anna Lisa and I pushed strollers.  We played at the playground and ended up at McMinnamins for lunch.  Great way to spend a Saturday!

Here comes Carter!
Cameron chases after big brother.
Libby stops to contemplate where to take Shane next.
She likes to run around the little town.
Such concentration.
Peyton will clap in response to our claps now.  She's also wise to the flash of the camera.  Notice the squint.
Check the teeth!
Libby helped pour some cereal puffs for her and for Peyton.  Most of these got put back.
Rough housing before bed.
I wish you could hear the giggles behind these pics!