Isla 36 Months (3 Years)

What to say about my sweet Isla Pie?

 

She had her 3 year doctor appointment and I was SO proud of her. She LOVES going to the doctor and I love that she loves it. In fact, when I took Emma in for a visit when she had a never-ending bug, Isla was bummed that she didn't get to be examined too. At her well visit, the doctor asked her a series of questions about safety in the car, when crossing the street and when riding her bike. She answered every question correctly which apparently wouldn't be expected until she is 4. It's amazing the things that fill you with pride when you become a mom but I was just beaming. She also was asked to do a few tricks like balancing on one foot and jumping in place. She got a flu shot and was as brave as ever (no tears!) as she knew she needed to show Emma how to do it. And bandaids are pretty much the best thing ever.

We are starting to talk to her about privacy and so now she often tells us she needs "pry-uh-see" when she is going to the bathroom. Sometimes it's true. Other times I find her standing on the toilet seat, naked from the waist down, dancing. You just never can predict what she's going to do.

 

She is the best big sister. Seriously. I know you are never supposed to let a 3 year old supervise other children but she is really quite capable. We've taught her to let us know if she sees Emma heading for the stairs, bathroom or putting her clip in her mouth and she does so 100% of the time. She is also quick to give her sister a toy when she is upset and is learning to take turns.

 Cousins!!! Our family on Graham's side is growing and the kids just love being together (can you tell?) Truly they do!

 

We had kabobs and corn on the cob a couple weeks back and, thinking I was being so helpful, I cut the corn off the cob for her. Wrong. She wanted the corn "ON the kabob," as she called it. The term has sort of stuck and now we all enjoy our "corn on the kabob." The the other night, I served a roast chicken and gave Isla the choice of having a piece on or off the bone. She selected bone-in and cheerfully told me "I'm eating chicken on the ka-bone!" as she ate. Love her! 

She continues to be full of questions and there is no such thing as silence in her world. Much of our conversations this past month surrounded birthdays and rightly so since all 3 of us girls celebrated ours in less than a 3 week span! She got to celebrate once with Graham's extended family (pictured above) and then once with her sister (more on that later). She is already asking when her next birthday will be.

Isla loves to dance (I think I'm going to pursue putting her in a class), look at books, sing, do crafts, take baths, ride her Strider bike (she's getting really good) and go to the park. She also asks me almost daily if her running shoes fit yet. She's looking forward to her first race. But she also (sort of surprisingly) has been requesting that we "just stay home" as of late. My busy girl takes after her mommy and needs a day at home after too many that are packed to the brim!

Last days of Summer

Fall is definitely in the air! The morning and evening hours have turned quite cool but we've been blessed with continued sunshine during the day over the past week. We are trying to savor every last drop of sunshine including dinners on the patio! Graham is back to school in one week so these past few weeks as a family have been a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon Rolls

 Last week my sister who mind you, is just a couple weeks post-partum, invited us over to make cinnamon rolls. Gid and Isla had a ball and we have thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labor with our coffee this week!

 

 

 

Emma: 12 Months

 I am finding myself wishing I could bottle up Emma and save this stage she is in right now. It is my FAVORITE so far! She is so interactive, has figured out how to point (LOVE this!) and we learn more about her charming personality every day. 

 

I took her to her 1 year well baby check up and she weighed 20 lb, 8 oz (25-50%), was 30 inches long (75% - what?!) and her head was 18 inches (50-75%). She is growing great on all parameters which means our single-sided nursing stint did the trick. Phew!

Emma has recently started doing this thing where she stops what she's doing, sits down and extends a hand toward you as if to say "stop!" Then she yells out a couple syllables and she does it with such conviction that you really think she might be saying something. It is too cute. The other day we took her to our favorite Kirkland pool for the first time and it was like she'd discovered her voice. She spent a good half hour crawling around the pool deck, saluting, pointing and yelling things like she was giving a speech.

 

She is actually starting to talk and says "uh-oh" (Aug 25th), "nigh, nigh," (accompanied by a wave) "Da-da" and "Isla" (which she usually YELLS. Hmm...)

Her favorite activity these days is stair climbing which she learned to do on August 7th. She makes a beeline for the stairs anytime she sees the baby gate left open. I literally turn around for 2 seconds and she's halfway up! She loves going to the park where I think she could spend all afternoon scaling the playground.

 

Emma finally cut her first tooth on August 20th (front bottom right) and I'm pretty sure another is following close behind it. She sleeps through the night and takes a morning and afternoon nap (the latter now coincides with her sister's - hallelujah!) Her naps have been short lately (50 min - 1 hour) but I'm hoping that's because she is teething.

 

Our poor girl has spent the entire last month snuffly and sick. After two trips to the doctor, we finally started her on a round of antibiotics and, for the first time in 6 weeks, she is well!

Our little laid back child has developed an opinion! She likes her space and let's her sister know when her bubble is being invaded. The two adore each other and play well for the most part with the exception of an occasional sharing war. When Emma doesn't get her way, she's started laying her head face down on the floor and screaming. She's young enough still that I find it hilarious but I'm sure not for long.

 

We started whole milk the week before her birthday and at first she was a dissatisfied customer. We had to give it to her in the bottle for a couple of days and then transitioned fine to a sippy cup. She feeds herself 100% of the time and is figuring out how to use a spoon. She loves carbs and meat best, dislikes cheese (really?! what kid doesn't like cheese) but will eat yogurt and cottage cheese. She's not a huge veggie fan either but likes kale and broccoli.

Emma walks with help (fingers or pushing the toy shopping cart) and pulls herself up on everything so the crib is now at it's lowest setting. She loves looking at books but doesn't like being read to, can give high fives, hates diaper changes, loves the remote (which she knows to aim at the tv), cell phones, any electronic really. If she gets a hold of one of our phones, she immediately sticks it to her ear and yells "Hi!" and begins waving.

 

She's a total water baby and has been crawling around the beach this summer, splashing in the water. She's a joy and we love her like crazy!

Half Marathon!

**As a preface, if you are currently registered or contemplating running a half in the near future, post might not be for you. Or if you hate runner's lingo (it drives me crazy too!!), you might also find this post incredibly irritating. All others, forge ahead. 

I did it! Today I can cross off an item on my bucket list (well, it wasn't really ever on there but now I can add it AND cross it off!) because I completely my very first 1/2 marathon!!!!!!! I have been training with my friend Olona and we actually did a "trial run" of 13 miles together 2 weeks ago and it went great. Unfortunately, her plans changed at the last minute and she was heading out of town this weekend so couldn't do the race with me, much to my disappointment. The idea of running the whole thing alone petrified me so I immediately downloaded some library books to Graham's iPod  in case I couldn't find a real person to keep me company. Enter Chante, a friend of a friend who I've hung out with on a number of occasions in group settings. She is an amazing athlete (most recently completing a 1/2 Iron Man Triathlon) so I was feeling a bit intimidated when she offered to run the 1/2 with me. Oh man, what an answer to prayer she was!!

 

It will never cease to amaze me how you can have good running days and bad running days. Today was definitely one of the latter for me. I made a rookie mistake and over hydrated before the race even started, so much so that when we were jogging around to warm up, what felt like cups of water were literally sloshing around in my belly. Ugg. So, needless to say, I got a huge dual side ache at approximately mile 2. Not good. Those first 2 miles were at a pretty good clip for me (just over 8 min/mile) which didn't help things. By mile 3, I was ready to walk. Also not good. But, I kept going, thanks to my incredibly encouraging running buddy. By mile 5, I couldn't believe it was only mile 5. I was feeling like a slug and was fighting a severe mental battle as all the wussy in me was begging to come out. Thankfully my parents and Gideon were waiting at ~miles 3 and 5 to offer some cheers.

 

Chante had some good advice to "settle in" and that really helped me ease into a good pace. Around mile 7.5, I felt good for a short bit as the side aches began to fade a bit. The "good" period only lasted for about a half mile and never returned. Major bummer! We passed my parents and Gideon again around mile 8 which was awesome. Can I just say I love my family?

 

At mile 9, we encountered another welcome sighting:

 Oh my goodness what mother doesn't melt when she sees this? My sweet girls, Graham, Mike (Chante's husband) and Jeremy, Rachel & Oliver were all there with lots of cheers. The best part about this sign is that it is done with ACRYLIC paints on CANVAS. I adore my artsy husband! Most are lucky to have a cardboard sign in their honor. I got a canvas! Go big or go home!

 

Last night over dinner, I was telling Isla that I was really nervous for my race and that I really needed her and Emma to jump up and down and clap and yell "You can do it Mommy!" My ever-realistic daughter looked at me and with just a smidge of attitude said "Mom, Emma can't do that!" Like, duh Mom. But this morning she was a complete gem and woke up just before I had to leave. She gave me a hug and excitedly told me "I'll see you at the race!" She started to head up the stairs and then stopped me in my tracks "Wait Mommy! I have to give you a hug and a kiss!" Oh how I love that girl!

 The next 4 miles were hardcore, with emphasis on the "hard." I honestly don't know how I kept running because I wanted to walk so badly. The course ended with a long out and back stretch that felt eternal. Somewhere between miles 10 and 11, I lost it. Ya know, that thing that mommy runners lose but neglect to talk about. We all pretend it doesn't happen but let's be real here - bladder control ain't what it used to be!! At first I was a bit mortified but then I decided to just embrace it and pat myself on the back. I AM RUNNING A FREAKING HALF MARATHON ONE YEAR AFTER GIVING BIRTH. Not everyone can say that. I also convinced myself of some major pluses about the whole ordeal: 1) no need to wait in the long port-a-potty line at the end of the race 2) there was still plenty of time to dry out before the finish line. Really, the perks pretty much outweigh the negatives. Almost.

 

Chante stayed with me until mile 12 when she broke away in pursuit of a personal record (which she got, by the way). I put in my headphones and then tried to get the iPod to do something other than play the first 2 seconds of every song. These distractions were welcomed and before I knew it, I could see the finish line. When I saw the race clock displaying less than 2 hours, I was thrilled and relieved and unable to push any harder all at the same time.

 My goal for the race was (most importantly) to finish but I also had a secondary bonus goal of doing so in less than 2 hours. I am so happy to say that I met both goals with a final time of 1:58:24. Yay!! I was 25th in my age group and the 189th female. I am so, SO happy to say that I did it! And I'm even more thrilled to say that it's done!!!

 

I came downstairs after my post-race shower to find the sign hanging on the wall in the living room and I burst into tears. This race was so significant for me, helping me to see that I'm stronger than I realize. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, created by God and in Him, capable of bigger things than I can imagine. It was really, really hard ("bad" running days are brutal even without the 13.1 mile distance!) But I did it even though I wanted to quit and walk. 

I think I'll be leaving this sign up for a while. I just love everything it signifies.

The Kropf Farm

On my birthday weekend, we took a rather last minute trip down to Harrisburg, OR to visit our dear friends the Kropfs. The trip was multipurpose as 1) we were long overdue to visit the farm 2) the Kropfs just welcomed their firstborn who we were dying to meet and 3) our grass fed cow who I will refer to as "Bessy" had been brought to slaughter a couple weeks prior and was ready to find her way to her new home in our freezer.

The trip was an absolute blast and quite honestly, I think I'm about ready to begin my farm life. The trip down was long but we made the almost 5 hour drive with only one pit stop in downtown Portland for my birthday lunch (at the Saturday market of course!) We welcomed the opportunity to stretch our legs and tour the far upon our arrival.

The baby carrying-mamas (unfortunately this is the best shot I got of our wonderful hostess Nikki)

As you can imagine, much like her mama, Isla ate up the farm life. We got to tour the garden, the hazelnut processing equipment and sit on the HUGE combines for harvesting grass seed (seriously, you don't realize how big those things are until you are right up next to one!)

Barney took us for a ride in the Gator (4 wheeler) to see the site of their outdoor wedding last August. We were SO bummed to have missed it but I was 39 weeks pregnant at the time and my doctor advised me to stay home. Boo. Enroute to the wedding site, we encountered some cows (Bessy's family probably...)

Grayson Elias - so adorable it's ridiculous

The evening of our arrival, Barney & Nikki grilled up some delicious carne asada tacos. They even had homemade blackberry crisp for my birthday dessert! The blackberries were fresh from the farm of course. They said they've been busy making jam and freezing berries all summer because of their endless supply of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and marionberries...sounds like the life to me!

Ok and how much more awesome can farm life get? Apparently on Saturday nights in the summer, they do movie night outside. I had no idea how incredibly this would be but the evening was complete with couches on the front lawn, popcorn and a giant INFLATABLE big screen!! I didn't know they made those things but it was awesome! And the best part? We could turn it up as loud as we wanted because the nearest neighbor was a mile or two away. Oh, and there happened to be a meteor shower that night and I saw the biggest shooting star I've seen in a long time - so cool!



 Day 2 in farm country was just as exciting as the first. Isla got to hold Grayson and she loved his gumdrop binky because she could "see inside his mouth."

 After church and naps, the Kropfs took us for a ride in the Gator to is uncle's house for some swimming in the swimming hole. This was a highlight for Graham and Isla.

 Then we drove around the fields picking blackberries - we got just enough for us to take home to make jam and a pie! 

 

 That evening we enjoyed dinner at the annual Scandinavian Festival in the town nearby, complete with vikings and everything. 

 Of course there was dancing too which Isla thoroughly enjoyed.

 We crammed a lot into our short 2-night stay but were so grateful to our hosts for a wonderful trip to the farm. In addition to the blackberries we picked, they also sent us home with bags of zucchini and kale, fresh from the garden. Can't wait to go back!