Bubba....Dadda....Love....

That is what Journey said today as we were passing a picture of Mark, Aspen and Journey together! I couldn't believe it. Journey truly loves her bubba. I love watching their relationship develop.

Here they are watching cartoons. All snuggled up on the couch together.
One other story, last night as we were cleaning up after dinner, Aspen started laughing hysterically at Journey. When we looked over to see what was going on, we realized that Journey was making funny faces at Aspen and he was totally cracking up. It was hilarious. Journey was pretty proud of herself that she could make Aspen laugh so much too. I am hoping that I will be quicker at getting my camera out next time so that I can capture what she was doing!

Bubble Baths

We have been sick around here for the past week and a half. Baths always seem to help when you are sick, so I suggested the idea to Aspen. He loved it and when I wasn't looking, he added the soap......

The bubbles were out of control! They just kept getting bigger and bigger. In the end I had to jump in and throw arm-fulls out of the window.
Guess what Journey's new word is.........bubbo!

Aspen was the sicky at the time, hence the red fever flushed face. As Journey is getting older, they are playing together a lot more. It's fun to watch them laughing and having fun together on their own.

More Summer 2008

Chuck-E-Cheese

Yes, we finally gave in and took Aspen and Journey to Chuck-E-Cheese’s for the first time. I have been avoiding that place since Aspen was born, and am hoping that is the last time we have to go there. Enough said. Oh, and Aspen loved it, of course.

Sleep-Over

Another first – Aspen had his first sleep over with his cousin Adam. We met the cousins at the zoo, and brought Adam home with us to spend the night. Adam is 5 years old. Last year we went on vacation with Mark’s parents and they brought Adam along in hopes that Aspen and Adam would have fun playing and keep each other occupied. Well, that ended up being a huge mistake. They fought like cats and dogs the entire time, and most of our time and energy was spent on keeping them apart and occupied separately. Well, fast forward one year and it is incredible how much they have changed! They had a blast playing together “hunting” in the backyard, playing with swords, exploring the basement and playing computer games.

Friends

Aspen has reconnected with his friend Sofia this summer. Sofia’s family lives in our neighborhood, and we have taken advantage of this for weekly playdates. They have a blast together (Sofia is a great balance for Aspen!), and us mommies get a couple hours to ourselves every other week. It has really been fun to watch their friendship grow. Aspen has realized that he can make Sofia laugh, and now does all he can to be the “funny” guy. So cute, and I feel like I am watching a little Mark in training.


Journey-B

Side Note: Look!!!!! I can put a barrett in Journey's hair!!! Okay, just barely, but I have proof!

This has been a tough week for Journey. She was bitten on the arm by two different girls at the gym daycare. Both the girls were also one year olds, so what can you do? But she does have two sets of teeth marks on her arm and was not too happy about going back the next day.

Today she receive her first bee sting. Well, stings. We were berry picking at my mom’s house when I unknowingly sat her down about 1 foot away from an underground bees nest. About 5 minutes later I got the first bee sting. As I was swatting it away, I heard Aspen start screaming. I tried to get him away as fast as possible while slapping away more bees when I looked over at Journey and saw her face move from panic to screaming pain. The bees were all swarming around her as she sat next to the hive. I ran over, scooped her up while swatting away the bees, took hold of Aspen’s hand and ran. It was crazy! In the end, I received 5 bee stings, Aspen 3 and Journey 2-3. For the record, I am sure they were not just simple bee stings. They are still painful and swollen 6 hours later, and those are mine!

Summer 2008

We have been having a fun, busy summer so far. Here are some highlights.......


Saturday On The Water

This is still Journey's spot in the boat. Lounged in the cabin on a pillow. What a life :)

Mark had scheduled a tuna tournament for the weekend after the 4th of July, but unfortunately, due to weather, it was cancelled a couple days before. Mark and his friend Scott decided to spent the night on Government Island. The kids and I met them at the boat launch the next day and we drove down the Columbia River to Sand Island in St. Helens. We had a great day and perfect weather. Journey still takes two naps a day and Aspen one, so you never know how a whole day on the water will go, but it went great! Journey fell asleep as we were boating down the river. Aspen's cousins who live in St. Helens and met us at Sand Island for a couple hours of fun.

VBS

Aspen got to participate in his first VBS last week at Abundant Life. It's not the church we attend (my parents), but it is much closer to where we live, it's a great, fun, young church, and best of all, his friend Sofia goes there too :) He came home glowing every night after VBS. It was fun to watch. He has now informed me that Abundant Life is his church. Not our church, but his church!

New Words
Journey has come out with quite a few more new words lately:

Wawa - water

Ball
Baby

Eye (and points to it)

Pretty

Berry
Kaker - cracker

Pasta
More Mama
My Mama

Cheese Mama - by far her favorite food. She even asks for it at breakfast sometimes!
Papa

Nana - banana or Nana (Mark's mom)

Buba - Aspen

NO

She is stillllll not walking. She HATES it when I try to push her by only holding one of her hands when she walks, try to make her walk a couple steps to the couch or try to talk her into walking to me. She is very stubborn and will just sit down (and throw a fit) if I try to make her do something she doesn't want to. She is very cautions and hates to fall. I am just getting so tired of carrying her everywhere!

Fun At The Park

Today, I met my friends Kelley and Lisa at the park. When I went to hygiene school, I gained some great, life-long friends. There is a group of us who still stay in contact and get together on a regular basis. When we were in school together, none of us had any kids. Boy has that changed! We all have so much fun every time we get together, and I am so thankful for their friendship. Here are some pictures from today....
Avery, Aspen and Koen working out who will play with the scooter next.......I won't do that again! It's too hard to share one toy like that between three kids........Yes, that was the drama of the day!

Sophie (12 mo.) and Journey (17 mo.) still getting to know each other. Sophie is 5 months younger than Journey, but much taller and is almost walking on her own. She is adorable.
It's hard to see, but the kids are all lined up watching the ducks in the pond - Avery, Koen, Aspen and Journey. Sophie is in the stroller. The kids got to feed the ducks, and Journey kept saying "kack, kack, kack!" at the ducks. So cute :)

I love those chunky thighs!

Aspen had a blast riding his scooter through the water fountains.