Here chick chick!

Springtime in Oregon means baby chicks, bunnies and turkeys at the local farm store.
Can't get much more honkeytonk then this! :)

"I get in with them, Mommy?"
Guess who wanted to take a bunny home?

Lunch date

On our way home from Bellingham we stopped at Cabela's. We've always wanted to; figured it's perfect for the girls since there is literally TONS of things for them to see plus we can catch a quick lunch, too. As suspected, Ashley and Natalie both loved it, not to mention lunch was pretty tasty also (venison sausage YUM!).

Happy-go-lucky
So in love with the waterfall, animals and fishies
It's a jungle out there!
She wanted to touch everything SO BAD
Elevator ride up - Ashley was confused by the sea lion "Where his legs at, Mommy?"
Going UP!
Yo yo yo
Our fierce little hunters

Tuesday Tidbits

Ashley has officially entered the "WHY, Mommy/Daddy?" stage.
I'll leave it at that.
Natalie has officially slept through the night without ear numbing drops and/or Tylenol THREE nights in a row. First time she's ever gone 3 consecutive nights (heck this is the longest she's gone without an ear infection!). 11 to 11.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep does wonders for her! The only complaint I have now is that she's taken to waking up at 630 in the morning. She doesn't understand that's Mommy's work-out time.

Success!

After 5 months, 6 ear infections and 7 (or is it 8?) anitbiotics, the worst is behind us! As of 7:57 yesterday morning, Natalie has tubes in her ears and we couldn't be happier!

Naturally I arrived at the hospital, camera in hand (please don't tell me you're surprised!). I have plenty of pictures to share, but for right now I just wanted to say yes, the surgery happened. Yes it was a success. And yes Natalie slept through the night last night WITHOUT numbing drops in her ears!

How many ways can you say FANTASTIC?!

I will certainly be sharing more pictures, but for the time being enoy this one of her in her hospital gown and very own, special, handmade scrub hat.

There isn't anything you can throw at me that I won't rock and look adorable in!

More Bellingham fun

Our second day in Bellingham took us out and about and into town for doughnuts, fish n' chips, chowder and a visit to Shaun's boat.
Notice how much of the outing was centered around food?
Coincidence?
Not likely.

First order of the day, making a calendar for Baby Fork, much like the calendar I made for Baby Wyatt (if you don't remember that, click here)
Rocket Doughnuts - of course anything moon/space/rocket related get's Ashley's vote!
Oooh. They all look so deelish!
PS She eventually settled on a giant sprinkled one and finished the whole thing in 1 sitting
Chilling with my milkshake courtesy of Aunt Lindsay
Sister lovin'
Mommy and her 2 all-time-favorite---ain't-no-one-better---life-couldn't-be-sweeter girls
Noshing on killer chowder and fish n' chips in Fairhaven
So excited to visit Shaun and his boat - Ashely literally ran full-blown and threw herself at him. Most adorable thing, ever.
Wait a second? Which one of you is preggo?
Of course Ash has to get her pic taken in front of the boats
Hammin' it up on the ride back to the house

Bellingham here we come!

We took a little family trip up to Bellingham to visit with Lindsay, Shaun and Baby Fork. As always, we had such a great time visiting and hanging out. The weather cooperated enough that we could get out and explore, which is always a plus when Ashley is around!

Checking out the tree house
Hey guys, what's going on up there?
Mommy and me
Sure, she's our Midget, but that tree stump is also HUGE
We always make time for the swings when we go to Shaun and Lindsay's
Flyin' high
Spunky's turn to go for a swing
Wild child, wild hair
Hold me tight Aunt Lindsay
Going cruising
Here...
...I...
...come!
Weeeeeeeeee!
Our attempts at a family photo:
Shot #1
Shot #2
A good shot of everyone is a rarity!
Later that night Spunky thought it would be fun to throw her toy phone INSIDE Lindsay's giant glass flower-pot thingy that only her hand can fit inside of. Jake had fun fishing that thing out!
Worn out

Too precious for words

I have a great group of friends that I met years ago on the internet (yes, you read that correctly; so scandalous I know). We're scattered all over the US, were all trying to conceive at the same time and met on a message board sponsored by Redbook magazine. In the 4 years since, I have come to rely on these girls for advice on everything from baby boogers to dinner menus.
Unfortunately some of the babes in the group have endured one surgery or another (a set of ear tubes, a tongue snip, an eye correction and the infamous ball drop), so I've had the opportunity to rely on the experience of other moms as I prepare for Natalie's ear surgery tomorrow morning, and I'm so grateful for that.
Yesterday a package was delivered for our little Natty Kat and when we opened it, there sat the most *precious* baby doll with Natalie's name stitched right on her little baby-doll-bum. An enclosed card was signed by my group of friends and it wished her luck. And although the package and it's contents where for Natty, I felt the warmth and love too.
Thank you Adrianne, Paige, Wendy, Jill, Christina, Allison, Laurie and Kelly! Your simple act of kindness, love and concern has meant the world to us.

Put the brownies down!

I think it may be time for an intervention...

PS In case you're concerned, Jessica got a funky new app for her phone, which meant countless hours of photo editing. So don't be alarmed. No need to call in Jenny Craig. ;)
...and I'm just going to throw this out there, but I see a STRONG resemblance to Fat Bastard...

Tuesday Tidbits

My dearest Midget and Spunky,
I love you both greatly and am honored to be your mother. I am so thankful you both enjoy fruits and vegetables and that it's never been a fight to get you to eat your greens. However, it's very hard to ensure you both eat well-rounded diets when ALL you will eat for dinner are the veggies and fruits. I've resorted to hiding the bowl of green beans, peaches, broccoli, carrots, pears, etc. until all of the main entree has been consumed. I love that you love these foods, but you cannot make an entire meal out of fruits and veggies.
Please do your mommy a favor and eat some meat/carbs every once in a while.
I love you,
Mommy

Little helper

Ashley has chores she's responsible for, one of which is helping with dinner as much as possible. Of course she doesn't realize the tasks are her responsibility; at this point jobs like these are fun and exciting. I wonder how long she's going to operate under that assumption? :)

Take a picture of the table, Mommy!
I forgot to give her the bread plates, so I had her come back to the kitchen to get those. After she finished arranging them, she insisted that I take a new picture. What a ham!

Shriner shiner

Natalie has joined the ranks of many 15 month olds before her by getting herself a lovely shiner by falling down at the Shrine Circus Kick-Off celebration.

A few minutes after impact
About an hour later - it just keeps getting prettier and prettier
An impressive Shriner Shiner, don't you think?

Under the bigtop!

This past weekend marked the annual Shriner's Circus Kick-Off. Ashley was super excited to go and see the clowns, and is officially ecstatic about going to the circus with Auntie A. Of course the circus won't actually be in town for a few more weeks, but Midget doesn't know that. ;)

Mini-Shriner
Excited
Say CHEESE
Too excited to sit and watch the magic show
Twinners
Ring toss- it landed in the green hop for 15 points!
Dress-up time
Ashlique'
Get.it.off.NOW
Her Royal Majesty
Shaking it on the dance floor
Posing with Papa at his game station
Going fishin' for goodies
Slam dunk!
Feeling around for the luckiest ducky
My turn to go swimming er uh, I mean duck hunting
Not sure what to say about this one... :)