Bedding Update

So, we were in Babies R Us a couple of weeks ago and I saw the perfect bedding set. I was so excited that I came home and looked it up - it is brand new, and nobody's really even carrying yet. But it is exactly what I've been looking for, so I am now happy. :)

Oregon Coast - On The Road

We had some fun on our road trip back up to Washington. As usual, we were late risers, so by the time we got out of the condo we were hungry. We decided to stop at a Mo’s to see if their clam chowder was really as good as everyone says. Andy, Lynnae and Charlie all thought it was awesome. I enjoyed my usual hamburger, as I am really NOT a seafood fan. :) The Mo’s we stopped at had a really old pier that the kids spent some time walking down. Mr. Squirrel enjoyed it too.

We stopped at a couple of other lookouts on the way back as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have much memory of this, but it looks like everyone had a lot of fun. This was the first day that I had the flu this past year, and I was running a 103 degree fever the whole 5 hour drive back. (Thank you Andy, for driving!) Charlie also got sick, and woke up that evening with the croup – which was a fantastic experience. (Not really.) But luckily he was not sick on the way back and enjoyed the stops. I’m also glad that he didn’t get sick until we were home!

We gave both kids a disposable camera earlier on in the trip – and they were having a lot of fun taking pictures of each other, random objects, and the scenery. Charlie still has a couple of pictures left to take on his – and then we need to get it developed and see how he did.

All in all, this was a fun little trip. Hopefully we will be able to do it again soon!

Oregon Coast Scenery

While we were in Oregon this past April, I was really impressed with the beauty of the scenery. Our condo was right on the water, and we had breathtaking views out of our balcony. I could have sat there all day and just watched the scenery changing. I took a lot of pictures, here is a slide show of my very favorites. Nearly all, save the last one, were taken from our condo. (Not all from the balcony though, we also had a huge lawn that was on top of a short cliff above the ocean.)

Hatfield Marine Science Center

Since I just blogged about recent activity, I figure... why not take a step back over six months ago? Since I've been pregnant, I have never finished posting about our spring activities. And I don't want to forget them!

You may, or may not, remember that we took a trip to the Oregon coast for Spring Break this past year. We spent a day in Newport, which is a cool town with a harbor and a couple of lighthouses. They also have this awesome, FREE place called the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Lynnae loves science, and with the price, this was one of our main destinations. It was basically an aquarium/museum with some really neat exhibits, sponsored by the college. Charlie and Lynnae both had a great time. They got to learn a lot about fish and food chains. I think their favorite parts were listening to the whales on the phones and playing with the tide pool exhibits – which they also enjoy at the Seattle Aquarium.

Andy and I had a lot of fun watching an exhibit about chaos theory, which was driven by a water wheel. I spent at least thirty minutes watching how the water filled up and waiting to see how long it would be until the wheel started spinning and loosing it’s contents. Charlie was running around playing with the exhibit while I was doing this. :) We spent several hours at the center and supported them by making a little purchase at their bookstore on the way out.

Next time we go back to the Oregon coast, which will hopefully not be long away, we will definitely stop here again!

Why I Love My Husband

Today is Andy’s birthday. Last night we were talking about all of the things that have happened in our little family since we celebrated his birthday last year. It’s been a really hard year, filled with some lows and some incredible highs.

Earlier today I was going through some pictures that I’d taken at the park last weekend. There were a few pictures in particular that caught my eye, and I realized that they showed me something different. They are of Andy helping Charlie figure out how to climb a rope apparatus at the park. I wish I could post them here - but, since they have Charlie in them, I can't.

There are a lot of reasons why I love Andy – but one of the biggest is that he is a great dad. I love to watch him play with Charlie. Charlie idolizes him, and often accosts him at the door when he gets home from work because he’s just so excited that he can’t contain it. I can’t wait to see how that relationship will grow, and to see Andy interacting with the new baby as well. Next year, I’m sure we’ll have a similar conversation to the one we had last night... And I’m hoping that there can be fewer lows and more highs. :)




Happy birthday Andy!

Cute Stutzman Kids

Last weekend we had a visit from our good friends the Stutzmans, and we got lots of pictures of their adorable kids. (And a couple with the parents.) Here are some of my favorites!

Jacob - Just Turned Two

Caleb - Six Months Old

Matt - The Big Senior

The Boys Together

Fun with Joe and Carleigh

Nursery Bedding

I am finally starting to look at bedding sets, and I'm having a hard time choosing! When I started looking, I figured that I might go for the patterned look - but it turns out that all of the four that we've narrowed it down to have characters. Go figure. All of the sets are also from Babies R Us - I looked at other places, but ended up with a list from one store.

The room we are using as a nursery is currently painted a darkish-muted blue. I was looking for sets that may match it, but I also really like browns and greens. We don't know if we will repaint or not. We also don't know what the crib will look like yet, but I'm assuming that we'll choose one with a medium-brown wood to match the dresser that is already in the room.

I'm curious for your opinion. If you've done a nursery before - what did you try to avoid? What did you look for?

Here are the four we are looking at along with their user-ratings.

Jungle Tales - 4 stars


Jungle Faces - 4 stars

Day at the Zoo - 5 stars - despite complaints about fading and changing colors in the wash.

Ahoy Mate - 5 stars