Hands and knees...

On Monday, shortly after I took Beth to the airport, we were home playing and Gracie started crawling. She was slow at first, but now she is really getting the hang of it. She has been mobile for so long (her old head down method), but this still seems like a big step. There are times that she still puts her head down to snow plow, but she seems to understand that she can move her arms with her head up, and is liking this new mode of transportation. We have been trying to get video of her hands and knees crawling, and hopefully will have some footage to post soon. (Of course as I am typing this she is happily plowing along the floor at my feet... stopping every once in a while to throw one arm up in the air to earn style points.)

As fun as it is to watch our baby grow up, Merrick and I are both feeling a little sad that it is happening so quickly. I can't believe she is 8 months old - 2/3 of her first year are gone. I am again reminded how lucky I am that I have been here to see each and every one of these milestones in her life! I am so thankful to be a full time mom. I love my life!

The great outdoors...

The past few days have been so beautiful here. I know that the rain and cold will come back soon, but we have sure been enjoying the sun and warm weather. It has been days since I have had to wear a jacket.

Yesterday we met Shannon, Sophia, Kim and Baylie at the park by our house. We threw out some blankets and let the girls play in the grass. They loved watching the big kids playing on the slides and swings, and we loved the chance to sit in the sun!

At one point I looked down just in time to see Sophie and Gracie both reaching for a big earth worm. The worm had crawled right up on our blankets, and knowing our girls, it would have ended up in one of their mouths, so we were glad we caught them first. I am not sure how we would have explained that one to our husbands... "no really, we were watching them!"

Today is another beautiful day in Oregon, and though we didn't make it to the park, Gracie and I were able to get out for a short walk. I think she loves the sun and fresh air as much as I do. It is nice to have a total change of scenery every once in a while... no mater how old you are!

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant..."
~Anne Bradstreet

Worth a thousand words...

Here are a few pictures of what we have been doing lately. None of these needed a blog all to themselves, but I didn't want to leave them out completely. (You can click on any picture and it will get bigger) Enjoy!

We're playing ba-sket-ball...
Grace loves playing pop-a-shot with her daddy. She sits in the ball shoot and watched the score board tick away as he shoots. In fact, when Jeff and Emily stayed here the other night, Jeff started a game in the morning. Gracie had been playing in her room, but when she heard the beeps she stopped what she was doing and was looking for the balls.

Sleeping soundly...
This little one NEVER sleeps on her back, especially in the middle of the room that is full of toys and things to do. Later that same evening she was sitting on the couch with Merrick and the next thing we knew she was once again sound asleep. When she later came down with a cold, we understood why she was tired enough to conk out just about anywhere.

Making faces...
Grace has this new funny laugh. The best part is she does it only when she thinks she is being funny. She scrunches up her faces and breaths really fast in and out of her nose. We call it huffing and puffing. This is the closest I have come to capturing the face on camera... I'll keep trying!


Making messes...
She loves food, there's no doubt about that! Now that she knows she can feed herself, she isn't as fond of the spoon as she used to be (unless of course it is in her own hands). Believe it or not, there are some foods that I won't let her try on her own.





Getting teeth...
There are signs that teeth are close, but none have poked through. Since she is still nursing, I am in no hurry for this next step. We did, however, have to try out some of my Halloween teeth on her. A little creepy, I'll admit, but I couldn't stop laughing hysterically when these were in.

Spring showers bring...

...baby clothes!

As one last hoorah before Bethany headed back to Utah - as if we needed to add anything else to her already very busy week - we had a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Since I had family at my house on Saturday, we had the shower at my mom's house. I guess I had forgotten to mention to my mom the total number of people that were coming until Saturday night. She panicked just a little when I told her that 32 people would be there. Oops. (Notice the "stadium seating" in my parent's family room. It was quite a scene).

My mom doesn't love hosting people, but always does a good job. The food was great and she had some really fun shower games that we played. I think all the ladies had a great time. It was fun for me to meet people that are important in Beth's life that I didn't know already. It was also great to see even more family that I hadn't gotten to see the night before.

In some ways it wasn't a typical shower because Bethany doesn't live in the Portland area right now. We had to be creative with invitation wording reminding people that she was going to have to get all the gifts back to Utah on a plane with her. She got a lot of really nice sleepers and baby clothes, a few toys, and a lot of gift cards.

After the shower we stopped at Whole Foods to get dinner and headed home to pack. Beth had only brought out one suitcase, so we were able to pack a big rubbermade container with everything she had been given at the shower. It was easy for the two of us to haul both things around, but we weren't sure exactly what she would do once she got to Utah. We were just hoping she would find a nice helpful person that would offer to help her to the passenger pick up area.

Monday morning, bright and early, we packed up and took Bethany to the airport. I was very sad to say good bye, but am hoping and praying that she and Seth will end up in the Northwest in the next few months. =)

Dancing the night away...

On Saturday afternoon we opened our house to my extended family - the Minthorne side. We have a very big family (more than 30 of us now that spouses and kiddos keep coming)! Unfortunately not everyone was able to make it. I was planning to have 20-25, but a few got sick, so I think we ended up with 19. Not too shabby. We spent the afternoon visiting, had a yummy BBQ dinner. Sunday was Craig's birthday, so my mom brought over a few birthday cakes to share. I even dug out some candles that I forgot I had and we all sang to him. I am sure he loved that part! When we were all stuffed to the brim, we busted out the games...

Craig brought over Rock Band, which was quite a hit with Aiden (My cousin's two-year-old son). He loved watching people play the guitar, and really loved banging on the drums. Craig wasn't able to stay for a really long time, but when he left John brought out Dance Dance Revolution! The only other time I have played it was in Sunriver when we were there with the whole family a few summers ago, so I asked John and Carrie to bring it with them. I don't have pictures of DDR, but it was just as much fun as Rock Band. It was cute to watch Aiden try to dance. I am sure he thought he was doing exactly what he was watching us do... stomp around on a big mat in the middle of the floor.

All-in-all I would say it was a great night. We were able to spend time with family that we don't see nearly enough, meet baby Nathan (the newest Minthorne) and play some great games. Hopefully we will be able to do something like this again soon. For those that couldn't be there... you were missed!

Hi ho cheerios...

This week we started letting Gracie feed herself. I cooked sweet potatoes a few nights this week, and she sat in her high chair and ate with us. We also gave her avocado, peaches and cheerios to snack on. It is fun watching her learn to chew the cheerios - the first thing she has had that is at all hard. Eating by herself is fun, and it is a learning process she must go through, but it sure is messy! I have many more pictures that I will post soon. For now, enjoy the video...

Never turn your back on the ocean...

Friday morning was also very low key for us. Gracie had a pretty good night. She didn't make too much noise, but she was spoiled and got to sleep in a big bed with me all night long. She again enjoyed the kitties in the morning, and they seemed a little more willing to venture closer to her than the night before.

After Gracie's morning nap we all packed up and headed to up to Twin Rocks. Bethany and I attended camp there since we were little girls, our mom's went to camp there when they were little, and our grandparents have been involved in the camp since its beginning. Part of growing up in the Quaker church was getting to go to camp at Twin Rocks. I love that place! I hadn't been there for quite a few years - since my junior or senior year in college. They have made so many upgrades and improvements since then. It was fun to walk around a bit and see new cabins, new rec activities, along with all the old favorites that are still there. It is much more like a resort area now than a camp, but I love it all the same.

We took a few pictures in the hollow tree in the middle of camp. Gracie first all alone - which was great until she tipped over and ended up with bark all over her coat and hanging from her face. She didn't mind, and was trying to pick the big chunk off her forehead. It was pretty funny.

It started raining a bit, but we still hadn't made it down to the beach, so we decided to run down for a bit. One new thing at the camp is an overpass for beach access. The camp is on the opposite side of Highway 101 away from the ocean, so they now have a large enclosed bridge that allows you to get from the camp to the ocean safely. (When we were young we would wait until there was a break in traffic and make a run for it... all 150 campers... this is much more safe!)

When we got there I was amazed to see how different the beach looked. Evidently the big storm this winter really changed the coast line. It was strange to see how different it was. The tide was also in really far - further than any of us have ever seen it. We didn't worry too much, and carefully made our way through the huge piles of drift wood toward the water. I found a great log to set up my tripod and get a nice group picture with the twin rocks in the background. I took a few practice pictures, then got everyone to pose on another log. I hit the timer button and ran to join the girls. The picture was taken, so I jumped up to check the image and see if I should take another. When I got back to where the camera was set, I caught a glimpse of a very large wave approaching. I just started yelling "wave, wave" to Bethany and Emily. Beth was holding Grace and the three of them quickly jumped up and ran towards me just as the giant wave covered the log where we had been sitting and smiling a few seconds earlier. I was in shock, but Emily was saying "take a picture, take a picture." I snapped a few shots - none that are great - but just so you can see that the log where we had been was soaked and we were surrounded by a large pool of ocean water.

Standing there safe and dry we started running through the "what ifs" of the situation... what if I had put Gracie there alone to take her picture, what if Beth had fallen amongst the drift wood trying to get out of the way, what if I hadn't jumped up to check the picture, what if the wave had been bigger or stronger than it was and rolled those logs towards us. Rather than dwelling on what could of happened, we decided to be grateful that we were spared and once again remember why (especially along that stretch of the beach) you should never turn your back on the ocean.

We did stay for a few more minutes and let Gracie enjoy her first trip to the Oregon Coast. She seemed to really enjoy the sand, and promptly had it EVERYWHERE! It was fun to watch her trying to figure it all out, and she really did want to eat the sand. Thankfully a handful never quite made it all the way into her mouth.

After our share or adventures on the beach we packed up and headed back toward Tillamook. We stopped for lunch, and then headed to the Cheese Factory for some squeaky cheese and ice cream! We then said good bye to Emily and drove home. Another quick trip and we were safely back in Hillsboro.

A very important leopard...

On Thursday Bethany, Gracie and I packed up and headed to the beach to visit Jeff & Emily (my cousins, Beth's brother and sister-in-law). They recently moved to Bay City, so we wanted to see their new house, visit Twin Rocks Friends Camp, and spend some time on the beach.

When we were about half way to the coast, we both noticed something on the side of the road. We could quite make out what it was, but as we got closer we could tell that it was two people. They weren't hitchhiking, just walking. One was pulling and the other pushing a large metal cart - similar to the type you might find at the airport to haul luggage. It was piled high, taller than either of them, and probably carried all of their earthly belongings. If you think about it, this was sad. Who knows where they were headed. They were at least 30 miles from a town in either direction. But there they were, just walking along the shoulder of Highway 6. We, however, had a good laugh as we zoomed past them. Because perched precariously on the cart, on the top of the rest of the stuff, was a gigantic stuffed leopard. It was probably as big as a grown person - the type you might win at a carnival from one of those impossible to win games. So not knowing anything else about these two people, or their situation in life, we spent quite a while thinking about where they might be headed, and why they thought it necessary to carry around that leopard. I told Bethany as we passed them that if I wasn't a little scared of strangers, I might have stopped the car to take a picture. It was that good of a sight, and my words just don't do it justice.

The rest of our drive was uneventful. I haven't driven to the coast since living in Hillsboro, so I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into Tillamook only an hour after getting onto Highway 26. It was such a short drive (and for you skeptics out there... yes, I do go the speed limit). It is a good thing I didn't know how close it was, or I might have been bugging Merrick to take me to the Cheese Factory a little more often!

We made it to Jeff and Emily's house and had a really nice and relaxing afternoon and evening. We went for a short walk around the neighborhood and up a hill to get a good look at the bay. It was a somewhat nice afternoon, with patches of blue sky, and the fresh beach air felt so great! Jeff made a really good salmon dinner, and we spent the rest of the evening playing a new pirate game, drinking hot cocoa and talking. Gracie especially loved the two kitties, who weren't quite sure what to do with her, but the three of them would sit and stare at each other.

Thankful Thursday...

This week I am especially thankful for my cousin, Bethany! She is here visiting from Salt Lake City, and it has been so great having her around. Gracie and I have been enjoying our days with her and are looking forward to the rest of this week and our VERY busy weekend that we have coming up. More writing and pictures of our time together will follow shortly!

Two of the greatest...

Yesterday Bethany, Gracie and I spent the day with grandma and grandpa Minthorne out in Newberg. We went out at lunch time, and ended up staying through dinner time. It was fun to just hang out and visit - with no real agenda or schedule. Gracie hadn't been there since November, so she seemed a lot bigger and much more mobile than the last time we were there. She LOVED Andy, the kitty, and waved at him with both hands at once. He, on the other hand, fled to the back room where he stayed for the day. He just wasn't sure how he felt about her noises, double arm waves, and all the "gear" that she showed up with. =) I am sure he thought we were taking over his territory.

Wuv, true wuv

Yikes. I haven't posted since Valentine's Day! Well, our v-day was low key because Merrick was getting over a stomach bug and Gracie had a bit of a cold. We didn't have any big plans, and I didn't even have any plans for dinner at home. Merrick came home from work a little early (6ish) and had a note and a bouquet of white iris for me... and he started cooking! It was a great surprise. He made a delicious meal of chicken vesuvio and butternut squash risoto. Yum!

Rather than getting each other little gifts this year, we decided to buy one of the big things off our list of things we want for the house. We debated over Friday and Saturday, and finally came to the conclusion that we wanted a BBQ. I knew I wanted one by summer, so this just seemed to work. The other things on our list didn't seem quite as important or necessary. After a lot of research, we settled on a Traeger - a wood pellet grill with all the capabilities of a gas grill plus the added benefit of cooking with wood heat and the ability to smoke food! We have a lot to learn, but we have used it a few times, and so far think it is wonderful!

On to other topics... We had a great weekend - much better than last weekend when Merrick was so sick. It has been SO NICE here this past week. I have spring fever, perhaps worse than I ever have. The Diefenbaughs came over on Sunday after church and we were able to take a nice walk to the park and it was fabulous. The kids played on the little playground and the adults soaked up the sun. It had been a long time since we had seen the Diefs, and it was great to spend a nice afternoon with them.

Busy, busy blogger...

I have been playing catch up today. Here are the posts that I have finally updated. I didn't want anybody to miss anything vital in the lives of the Brownlees.

The perfect valentine... is evidently impossible!
Thankful Thursday... I love my family.
Bubbles, bubbles everywhere... bath time and nap time.
My Date with Brennan... a trip to the children's museum.
Say Cheese... new pictures from Soren!
More than I bargained for... a very wet kiss.
For all you bloggers... just a few of my favorite things.
Jackson Bottom... a nice and relaxing Saturday with family.

The perfect valentine...

The other day I decided that I needed a picture to include in Gracie's valentines cards. I had no idea how hard it would be to get a little person to sit still, smile and hold up a sign. 80+ pictures later I still didn't end up with one that I love. Here is a glimpse of my failed attempts...