Visitors from Vegas

We just finished 5 wonderful days with our friends from Vegas! Ben, Jen and their little 10 month old girl, Madalynn flew in for a little R&R. I went to college with Ben and Jen and instead of flying back to Tennessee to our 10-year college Homecoming, they opted to come to Oregon instead so we could celebrate a little closer to home! We had so much fun with them...talking, showing them some of the sights in Portland (although a powerful and very wet weather system thwarted several of our planned outings) and eating and eating and eating! We were really sad to see them leave on Tuesday as we enjoy their company SO very much! Here are the highlights of our time together!

Tre taking Ben on a sidecar scooter ride...before the rain started

Jen enjoying a ride in the sidecar

Lelia absolutely LOVED Madalynn. Here she is giving her a little love pat!

Leaning in to give Madalynn a kiss

Bathtime for the babies

Enjoying a wagon ride to the park

Lelia swingin'

Madalynn enjoying her first swing experience...looks like she likes it!

The Davison Family

Tre and Lelia being goofy

Tre with Lelia and Madalynn

We're so thankful for friends like Ben and Jen! We just wished we lived a little closer to each other!

Monkey & Little Bug updates

Well, it's been awhile since I've done any Monkey or Little Bug updates. So, here's a sneak peek into what our little ones are up to!

The Monkey

Lelia is 15 months old now. She's quite mobile, running everywhere and into absolutely everything. She's discovering associations between objects and names/sounds so she's constantly got her pointer finger aimed at something or another in a kind-of silent request to have us tell her what it is/says/does. She's got an inquisitive and curious nature and we truly appreciate her learning mind despite it's sometimes exhausting effect on us parents!

Some of the words/sounds she is using now:

nana= banana

hi= which she lavishes on anyone looking in her general direction

rawr-rawr (in a growling kind of voice)= dog (she LOVES rawr- rawrs!)

key= kitty (she LOVES the 'key' but he's not so sure about her)

eh-E= Ellie (one of her beloved rawr rawr's)

ah-uh-ooh= I love you

buh= book (which she brings to you...she LOVES to be read to)

mama= mama and something she mutters non-stop until you get the item she is asking for

buh= Bug accompanied by a pointer finger aimed at my ever growing belly

*constant indecipherable chatter that escalates during car rides when you are trying to have a conversation

Things she can do:

climb up/down stairs

aware of where her socks/shoes go even if she isn't coordinated enough to put them on herself

puts her feet/legs/arm up when you are dressing her

chatters non-stop (although mostly gibberish)

identifies objects when you ask her about them (ball/book)

is learning body parts (nose, mouth, ear, hair, eye)

when asked 'where is Bug?' she points to my belly (well, any one's belly, really)

gives hugs/kisses/high five

will toast you with her sippy cup (one of my personal favorites!)

dances, dances, dances when music is playing

Activities she loves:

swinging in the park

bike/wagon rides

playing in the dirt in the yard

hanging out with her chickens/rawr-rawrs/key

reading books (her favorite is 'Girl of Mine' and any books with animals)

swim class

bath time/showers

being chased/playing hide-and-seek

musical instruments

being outside

Lelia is a great little girl. She's friendly and affectionate, exploratory and constantly observing her world. She gives lots of hugs and kisses, waves 'hello/goodbye' to everyone, and smiles abundantly.

Little Bug

We're now almost 31 weeks along with Little Bug...in the third and final trimester of this pregnancy! WOW! Bug's due date is 60-something days from now. Gulp! This pregnancy sure has flown by!

My belly is growing daily and this tiny person is really making their presence known with lots of kicks, jabs and rolls. Unlike my healthy cravings of fruit and only fruit, with Lelia, this child wants me to eat lots of carbs and starches and SUGAR! Uhg! But we're both healthy and everything is right on target. I appear to be bigger this pregnancy than with Lelia (which is usually common for second pregnancies) but I think I just poke out more in front with this kiddo. And the nice thing, so far, is that because this baby is sitting lower, I don't have the constant aching ribs from the last pregnancy. SO NICE! On the flipside, I do get kicked in the ribs instead. But right now, I can handle the quick rib jabs as opposed to the constant rib ache.

I'm quite tired/exhausted most of the time. At first I was convinced my fatigue was just pregnancy and the addition of chasing a busy Lelia around all day, but in fact, I am suffering from anemia. So, I'm hitting the iron heavy...lots of dark leafy greens, meat, eggs, beans and OJ in addition to switching from an iron free multi-vitamin to one with iron in it. So, hopefully upping my iron will solve my anemia and thus solve my fatigue issues! Only 9 ish weeks to go...

Names. Phew! We're definitely having a little difficulty with this aspect this time around. We've got a girl name picked out (at least today we agree on it) but we're having issues with finding a boy name. So, hopefully in the next few weeks we'll agree on a couple boy names and have something to choose from should Bug happen to be a boy! :)

And some recent photos to share...

With Koko, wearing her new Ethiopian outfit

Just being a ham with her scrunchie nosed smile

Hiking with Koko

In the Gorge with Grandpa

Hanging out with the neighbor's rawr-rawr, Merriwether

At the pumpkin patch

swing...a photo only post

urban farming success

Our ladies have started laying! Woo hoo!

So far, we've gotten 7 eggs over the last week! They are called 'pullet eggs', meaning they are on the small side, but will get to their 'normal' size over the next few weeks. Pullet eggs are still edible...it just takes a few more of them to make a decent scramble!

Anyway, 5 of the eggs (lighter tan in color) are from our black Australorp hen, Ophelia. So far, she's been the most consistent layer...at least one egg every afternoon. She climbs up into the coop, nestles down, does some awesome squawking and PRESTO...produces an egg.

The other 2 eggs (darker tan in color) are from our black and white Brahma hen, Dharma. She's the biggest hen of our 3 and will produce the largest sized eggs but will probably not produce as many as the other gals as she's not a breed known for their laying capability. But the couple eggs she has given us thus far are quite lovely...just small...we know she's capable of bigger.

So, now we're just waiting for our orange Araucana hen, Ginger, to start laying. We know she hasn't laid any eggs yet because hers will be anywhere from olive green to blue in color. I can't wait to see them!

So, our foray into urban chicken raising has finally paid off! And it's pretty exciting! Soon, we won't be making any egg purchases at our local grocery store as we'll be fed solely from our ladies!

AHHHHH

Well, after my last post, I pulled myself together and slugged out the 6 days until our vacation started!

I'm writing this entry while in post vacation bliss...we got back yesterday afternoon after a wonderfully relaxing 8 days/7 nights at the Oregon Coast.

AHHHH!

It was exactly what we needed...no agenda, no plans, plenty of cable television, gorgeous weather, accessible beach, comfy cozy rental house, a ridiculous amount of food, lots of card and dice games, a cooperative and pleasant Monkey, fellowship with dear friends, Tre and my celebration of 8 years of marriage together, book reading, sunset watching, beach combing, laughing over Lelia's adventures in the sand...and water, ahem! Just perfect and lovely and exactly what we needed to refuel and replenish ourselves!

AHHHH!

I didn't take many photos of our time at the beach. I think I was too busy soaking it all up and encouraging myself to let go and be 'in the moment'. But here are a few...

Lelia and Papa after a day on the beach

A sandy-nosed Monkey

Back at the cabin...Lelia enjoying the shovels with a sandy face, soaked pants and wet toosh!

Someone LOVED the beach!

You can't tell...but Papa and Lelia are enjoying the beginnings of a sunset from the deck

Phew or I'm so stinkin' tired my hair hurts

WOW.

It's been a very L-O-N-G month since our vacay down to Santa Barbara. Seems like a lifetime ago, actually! And not in a good way! :(

Since our return, Tre and my schedule has been a little more crazy than normal. For instance, by working a couple double shifts, he's been away for 6 out of the last 10 days. So, that's 6 days I'm single Mama'in it, 2 days I was working at my job and 1 day we had together as a family. Phew. Normally, I can totally handle Tre working doubles and I can rock single Mamahood.

But.

Lelia has been a nightmare lately. My sweet girl, who is usually the smiley-est happiest kiddo has been making whining seem like an art form. What? Where's my sweet happy baby gone? My little Lelia, who usually goes down around 8-9 at night and sleeps through until 7-8 the next morning...well, she's been waking up SCREAMING at least 5 times a night for the last week. Uh. What? I don't know how to cope with a baby that doesn't sleep! Since her arrival on this side of the womb, she's been a stellar sleeper...maybe a few nights she was partying like a rock star, but otherwise...a good little sleeper! So, after doing some research (i.e. prying open her mouth and finally noticing the ridiculous amounts of drool coming out of her) I realized that she's probably teething. And they are her molars. Two of them. Poor thing! No wonder she's been screaming like a banshee!

So, all that to say...I've been really exhausted lately! REALLY exhausted! Between the sleepless nights, then crazy days at work all while being pregnant and chasing around an active little girl...I've hit my wall of pain.

SMACK!

The good news is...we have a lovely week of vacation coming up in just 6 days. We'll be at the Oregon Coast (one of my all time favorite places EVER) with some really fun friends for a week of playing games, watching TV (such a luxury), walking on the beach and EATING good food. So, there is some light at the end of my tired tunnel.

So, sorry for the lack of blogging lately. But here some some pictures to hopefully make up for my absence...

Lelia and her buddy John at the zoo

Tre showing Lelia that goggles are cool so she'll wear them in swim class

Lelia likes to look out at the neighborhood activities

Lelia's food/hair/body masterpiece the other night at supper

If you can't play IN the pool, why not ON the pool?

Being goofy with her firefighter hat on

She likes to wear 'necklaces' now...dog harness, socks, towels...anything will do

Sweet Lelia Drew

a new camper at cl8n camp

Meet 'Little Bug'

portrait at about 13 1/2 weeks

profile portrait at about 19 1/2 weeks

We'll be welcoming this new member to our family in early 2011! I'm about 20 weeks along now...HALF WAY THROUGH...feeling great and sporting a nifty little baby bump that is sure to grow larger over the coming weeks. Lelia and Bug will be just a bit over 17 months apart. While we didn't necessarily 'plan' this, we were open to having our kiddos close together and are excited for Lelia to gain her big sister status and give lots of hugs to her new little brother or sister (we're keeping the gender a surprise until delivery again)!

We're overjoyed to be welcoming a new little person to our growing camp!