Snapshots from August...

In less than a week we will welcome September. The cooler days will quickly usher in the fall and bring a routine back to our lives. It is hard to believe that this summer is coming to an end. On one hand it feels like it just started, and on the other hand it seems like it would be hard to fit anything else in. We have spent very little time around the house. Yesterday was the first day this month that I was home at Grace's nap time... and she didn't sleep. I find myself not ready to say goodbye to the warmth of the sun (perhaps because we just didn't get enough this year), but I am ready for trips to the pumpkin patch and apple orchards, drinking hot coffee and wearing warm sweaters.

Once again I find myself in a place where there is so much to blog about and no time to do it. Here are a few snapshots from our month. I hope to find time to write about each of these events in more detail, but for now perhaps these pictures will get impatient blog-readers off my back.

August started with a bang... an epic thirtieth birthday party for me! We took over Rockaway Beach and spend the day soaking in the sun, flying kites, roasting hot dogs and giant marshmallows. It was perfect!

The day after my party I turned 30. It really wasn't all that bad. Plus, I got to spend another day at the beach with some of my very favorite people.

We've spent many Tuesday markets right here... eating delicious Mexican food and watching our "ballet girls" dance in front of the stage.

Doggie day-care = Claire's dream come true! I know you can't see her face, but imagine a very excited expression, constant panting (her "word" for dog) and full body wiggles. She was in Heaven.

Shannon and I taught ourselves how to sew. I'd learned a long time ago, but reading a pattern felt like another language. So far we've made two dresses and two skirts and have cut out the fabric for a fall jumper.

We've watched Merrick play soccer a few times - outdoor and indoor. This weekend we are looking forward to the alumni soccer game at George Fox.

We took another trip to Tryon Creek where we learned all about bats.

If all else fails, we head to one of the many parks in our area. This one is great. Fountain, sand, swings, bathrooms... it has everything we need!

After a long day in the hot sun, we headed to Jamison Square to cool off after dinner.

All of this going and going and going, she is bound to crash.

Claire's hair continues to grow - and get lighter. This hair-do is courtesy of three days of sunscreen and swimming.

Popcorn and a movie is the perfect way to end a long, busy day. She fell asleep sitting straight up about 5 minutes after this picture was taken.

Princess and Pirate day at the art studio - the girls glazed princess crown bowls. No idea how they will turn out - they might be black from all the layers of random glaze colors - but it was a really fun process. 

We bought a dresser for Grace's room at the Uganda garage sale. After two days of sanding, it was on to the priming. We had paint specially matched to her bed, so we are excited to see the finished product. It's coming together well, but needs another coat of two of paint before we call it done.

We watched the air show from the Costco parking lot... the jets were incredible!

We spent an evening with friends we haven't seen for "months and months."

Claire learned the joy of sharing mangoes with her daddy and big sister. 

We spent Sunday at Silver Falls with friends... we're getting excited about Tori's wedding!

Another heat wave brought more pool time. A now heated pool brought very happy three-year-olds.

Tuesday market and hula-hoop fun.

Grace's last "wee bounce" class was this week. She's really been enjoying gymnastics this summer. It is such a good way to burn energy and it's been fun watching her strength and balance improve. 

There have been numerous days when I didn't have my camera...  working at the Uganda parking lot sale for a few days, Hannah visitin, a few fun girl's nights out, swimming with Pinko Star, dinner with the Riders, mommy matinee at Bridgeport, Pizza lunch with friends, Sharing a car with Merrick while the Honda was tuned-up, Bible study mornings, a MaryKay party, lunch with PHS friends, an afternoon with Minthorne cousins, taking the car back to the shop, having dinner with Joel and Sarri and getting to see baby "R" for the first time.

So, there's August to date. I'll expand when I can. Hopefully this bought be a few days.

9 months...

Wow, we are 3/4 through Claire's first year. In three short months we will be celebrating her first birthday... crazy! We are still very much enjoying our days with this sweet-spirited, mischievous, silly, curious, spunky and adventurous girl. She makes us laugh every day. Here's a quick look at Claire - nine months old.

Growing: She is still in her normal size range - 29% in weight, 49% in height. I thought she might weigh a little more, but the way she moves all day long, burning calories as she goes, I shouldn't be surprised that she's not super chunky.

Eating: Claire eats all day long... literally. She still nurses four times a day and eats solid food meals in between (3-4 times plus any "snacks" she finds on the floor). She is great with a sippy cup or her little water bottle. Other than mama milk she has only had water to drink. She hasn't met a food she won't devour, and if it can be chunked up that is how she prefers it. She will, however, still eat food off a spoon which is nice for things like applesauce and yogurt.

Her new foods this month were:

July 24: Joe's O's (not to be confused with Cheerios... Trader Joe's O's have no wheat and a little less sugar).

July 25:  Barley - ground and cooked like hot cereal

July 29: Pears and nectarines

August 3: Whole milk yogurt - no sign of any dairy allergy here!

August 7: Zucchini (and olive oil)

August 11: Black beans

August 13: Pinto beans

August 16: Swiss cheese, kidney beans

August 17: Cannellini beans (white kidneys) 

Sleeping: She isn't a big fan of falling asleep, but once she is out, she sleeps all night long. I love that. She won't fall asleep in my arms, but will often fall asleep in other peoples arms. If we are home (which is rare) she will nap twice a day. Usually we are out and about and she sleeps when she is too tired to do anything else. She won't transfer either. If she falls asleep in the car - even for a few seconds - I have no chance of getting her in the house and into her bed. This is so different than Grace. 

Moving: Claire's newest trick is to pull up onto something and then stand unassisted. She is developing her balance and getting better and better at standing alone. She cruises along stationary objects and loves walking with help. Her favorite method of movement, however, is still speed crawling. Recently she discovered the fun of walking behind the laundry basket. I'm amazed at how fast she is. She can also climb up, onto and over things. She hasn't attempted our big stairs case, but she has climbed up a few stairs at a time, so we have to really watch her. She started dancing this month - it is a little jig-like dance she does while standing... no music necessary. She will also do a single leg toe-tap/stomp over and over again. The other night my dad was doing the cha-cha with her. She's pretty good.

Talking: She babbles and screeches a lot. We hear lots of "dadada, mamama, nanana, bababa." She likes to hold a phone to her head and "talk." She says and signs "book" (coming out as "bah, bah").  She makes panting noises when you ask, "what does a puppy say?" Along with talking she has learned to click her tongue. She watched me do it one morning and then started practicing. By that afternoon she had figured it out and would show off to everyone and take breaks from eating to click her tongue. Thankfully the novelty has worn off a bit.


Nicknames: This baby gets called everything but Claire. Seriously. I rarely say her name - especially when talking to her. Most often she is called Tiny. If you hang around us often enough you might also hear "Lawdy" (long story), Claire-E., Littles, Sister, Claire-ita, Claire-baby or Tiny-baby. 


Diapers: This month we switched to new cloth diapers. She had outgrown her original prefolds with Thirsties DuoWrap covers so it was time to reorder. After a little thought - and a lot of encouragement from Amy - we bought BumGenius pocket diapers. Claire has been wearing them for a month now - and in that time we have used a total of three disposable diapers. We are so thrilled with these diapers - they are easy, convenient, soft, and not too bulky. She seems to be doing really well in them too. Everyone is thrilled. We love them!


Car seat: We put Claire in her big girl car seat (or as Grace calls it "her sit up seat").  She still is rear-facing,  but this seat gives her a little more room and just seems more comfortable. The first night we put her in I think she knew the significance and was so proud to be sitting up tall like her sister. With these two seats facing opposite, but being the same size/height, the girls can interact more. Yesterday I saw Grace hold our her hand and Claire reached over and grab it. I just had to snap a quick picture. 

Claire loves: Her big sister... a lot. She squeals whenever Grace comes into view. The other day Grace was taking a nap on the couch while Claire was playing on the floor. When Claire discovered that her sister was up there, she crawled right over and pulled up next to her. She proceeded to scream at her until Grace opened her eyes and woke up. I can already see that having these two share a room in the future could be difficult. 


Claire likes: Books, animals, books about animals, Sophie and Shannon (she claps when she sees them), getting attention, binkies, TV (which is very rarely on), pat-a-cake and peak-a-boo, music, dancing, swimming, bath time, bananas, sleeping... I could go on and on.

Claire doesn't like: Being left alone, going to sleep (though she is still a great sleeper), sitting still, having her diaper changed (because that requires sitting still), not eating, having sunscreen applied, snuggling with mommy, losing her binky through the slats in her crib, being bugged by Grace, having something taken from her, being told "no." 

Personality: Every day I feel like Claire's unique personality is showing more and more. She is hilarious, fearless, adventurous, mischievous, strong-willed and at the same time she is sweet, mild-mannered, laid back and calm. She wants to explore her world at her pace and on her schedule. She won't let anything hold her back - literally. She is a problem solver, but gets stuck at times. She is independent, but completely social. She doesn't want to be left in anyone's dust and spends her day keeping up with the big kids she is around. She isn't very patient and doesn't have a very long attention span.

I feel like I could go on and on. Every time I sit to work on this post (that I started a week ago in hopes of publishing it on time) I just add to what I have written. It is hard to capture in words how special this baby is. We are so thankful that she is ours.

Four years...

I started this whole blogging adventure four years ago. In that time I have written 790 posts about my family, our life, our adventures. Sometimes I like to go back to "this day ___ years ago" and remember what we were doing.  So, what were we doing four years ago? I was training for Hood to Coast and Merrick was preparing for a quick trip to Europe for a job interview. It seems like just yesterday. Time has flown by... I'm thankful that I have a written record of these four years. I don't know who all reads this here blog - I mostly write for my own memory's sake - but I hope you enjoy looking into our lives.

What it takes...

I've had a lot of people comment on the family picture I posted recently. I thought this sequence of pictures might be funny to some - especially those who loved Claire's expression in the previously posted photo. You see, we were standing in front of Haystack rock. We were posing. We were smiling. Not Claire... she was serious.

2:02.09 pm

2:02.10 pm

2:02.10 pm

2:02.11 pm

And at 2:02.12 pm a flock of seagulls flew by and we got a totally different Claire face...

2:02.12 pm

2:02.12 pm

2:02.13 pm

2:02.13 pm

2:02.13 pm

At 2:02.14 pm Claire wanted to get down to chase the birds.

And at 2:02.15 pm Grace was done and I am laughing so hard you can't see my eyes anymore.

So, there you have it. What it takes to get one decent Brownlee family picture... 12 shots in six seconds, a flock of seagulls, and a patient 3-year-old.

Mission impossible...

It is nearly impossible to give this baby a bath. She is so wiggly and mobile that she doesn't want to sit still anywhere - bath included. She loves to stand up, bang on the edge of the tub, and then sit down hard to splash. She does this over and over and over... it is a game. Add slippery soap to the mix and you have an immediate need for an extra set of hands. Bath time just isn't as easy as it used to be.

My twenties...

From August 2:

Today I turn thirty. I am not bummed out or disappointed and I really don't feel any older. I am content. I am settled. I am happy.

In January - as we welcomed in the new year - many people posted about this past decade and it got me thinking about my twenties. They really were some of the best years of my life. I went to college. I fell in love. I had my heart broken. I lost someone I loved... twice. I traveled. I graduated. I grew up (a little). I got a job. I bought a car. I got married. We bought a house. We had a baby... and then another. I experienced great loss, great sadness, great joy and great accomplishment. I have very few regrets and many, many great memories.

I am looking forward to the ten years... and there is much to look forward to. So welcome, thirties. I am excited to see what you will bring, where we will go, who we will meet, where we will live, what we will do.