A new journey begins - goodbye summer!

Boy oh boy some changes are in the air. Alissa starts preschool on the 3rd and is very excited. I started babysitting a 2 year old little boy yesterday and will have him all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So far so good with that!
Alissa starts ballet the second week of September and Jonathan starts Toddler Time classes the last week of September. So to say the least we will go from a care free summer to lots of things to do! :) I am looking forward to it..

Toes.

New Doo For School!!

So how do you instantly watch your daughter look two years older?? Cut her hair!!

Alissa has been begging me for a week to cut her hair short.. so we did.
And this weekend we had girls night out and Alissa and I went to Applebee's then out for a pedicure! :) Ali got her finger and toe nails painted and had a blast!
We later went to the store and bought matching flip flops to show off our pretty toes. Ali picked this reddish orangish color (not my first choice!! LOL) and it turned out not too bad :) It was great taking some time out and just being with my daughter. She is such a neat kid - -so much imagination and so easy going. The guys hung out at home and played basketball with Jon's new hoop.

I am FREAKED OUT!!

Okay people.. truly.. ever heard of a HOBO spider?? I think I have in the past but never gave them much thought.. I always worried about the brown recluse. HA! There are no brown recluse spiders in Oregon despite what people may tell you but there ARE their equivalent: HOBO SPIDERS! What prompted this post?? Well.. a week ago we found this great big ugly spider by our front door and Matt said to take a picture of it for identification.. so I did. And forgot about it.. until today when I was skimming through pictures and came across this:

He was the size of a small biscuit.. seriously huge.. I know its a HE thanks to the joys of the Internet.. I also know way too much about this spider who could be lurking in my HOUSE and coming out at night. I am generally not panicked by spiders.. until now. I am heading out to by some traps. I have the serious heebeejeebees right now. EW EW EW EW EWWWWW....

Silver Falls

We spent the day with friends at Silver Falls. We had a picnic, went for a long hike and enjoyed the beautiful weather and views.

Alissa LOVES bridges. No matter how big or small this kid could live on a bridge. Notice I said ON not UNDER.. just checking.
Taking a break..
Our first sighting of the South Falls...very cool.
After hiking we had dinner at the lodge and then played on the playground until everyone was ready to collapse.
It was a lot of fun!! And phooey on the weather man -- rain and thunder storms?? Nah! Not a drop! WOOHOO

Birthday parties and paramedics.

Sunday morning I headed to Grandma Davis' house to set up Jon's party while Matt took Alissa to yet another birthday party. I set up Jon's basketball pool and filled it with balls and he had fun shooting hoops while I set up. Here is the final set up before the guests arrived:
And Jeanne did an unbelievable job on the cakes!! WOW! The baseball is a sugar free pie.
So the party got off to a great start - we had about 40 guests and had hamburgers, hot dogs, and a bunch of sides. Everyone to got eating and visiting and things were going great. Pinata time!! The kids all got a whack at the ball pinata and on the final blow it fell to the ground and the little ones raced to grab as much candy. That's when things took a turn for the worst. A little 2 year old girl fell backwards and started having a seizure. At first everyone thought she was choking as she was limp and started to turn blue - but her jaw was tightly clenched and after about a minute she started to cry and come out of it. It was one of the scariest things ever. The paramedics arrived within five minutes and they took her away in an ambulance. Found out later she had a fever and really not sure yet what triggered the episode because she had never had problems before. So after that issue we returned to the party and it was time for cake. Jonathan happily blew out his candle.
Alissa got a "helper present" and we were all surprised at how much she enjoyed playing the harmonica. Luckily it came with a music book so I can teach her how to really play. Should be fun!
All in all it was a fantastic party and we all had a lot of fun. :) :)

Jonathan VERSION 2.0

I woke up this morning with a mixture of pride and sadness.

Pride in my son for being such an incredible little person. He is full of energy and love of life, loves sports.. OK, is obsessed with sports. We went mini golfing for the first time Friday and they had clubs his size.. thought he would be more interested in swinging the club like a bat, but he took to golf right away. Is there no sport my little man can't do? I don't think so. The Beijing Olympics started Friday and I wonder if some day Jonathan won't be there. He has the best hand-eye coordination than I have ever seen in one so small. I am also proud when I watch him tackle life obstacles with such self-assurance and "me do it". He has determination and strength beyond his years. I am so proud of all that he has become in two very short years.


As I wrote this I am also a little sad. My baby.. well, he isn't a baby now. I was determined to nurse him for two years, and now we have arrived and I am faced with letting go of this special time and closeness.. and I'm not quite ready yet. I am sad that the day is closer when he will need me less and less. It almost doesn't seem fair that my kids have grown so fast. Jonathan is my last child.. and I just wanted to stretch these baby years a little bit longer, but alas.. the harder you hold on to time the faster it slips through your fingers.


So Jonathan is two years old today. Terrible two's? I don't think so. I will cherish this next year and all of the tantrums and power struggles knowing that when I write Jonathan 3.0 I will never again get the old version back. Knowing that all too soon his "Lu u mama" will turn into, "Love you mom" and his sweet little baby voice will someday be a deep man's voice.


I love you Jonathan.. you are my little man and I hope you never get too old to cuddle in close with mommy. I am so proud of the little boy you are, and the man I know you will someday become. Happy birthday baby.


This morning:

Groundhog Day and ballet...

Not a whole lot going on.. last Wednesday we headed to the fairgrounds and submitted a few photos for the contest -- that's always fun. I will post my submissions later, they are on my mom's computer because she has the fancy photo shop :)
Lately I have been seeing more and more that my children really enjoy one another. It's true how people say you enjoy every age.. I just wish I could be in Groundhog Day the movie sometimes and relive some days with my children over and over and over.. for that matter I could fix my attitude in a few of those days also. But alas, here we are stuck in the now so I will try my hardest to enjoy every second of every day that my kids are young and care free.. and then when they are older and struggling with life's curve balls.. and yet again when they are all grown up and raising families of there own. Is that really possible? Could my little ones really get that old? What a wonderful and scary thought. It is such a huge responsibility to instill in them the life lessons they will need to make good choices. I can tell you that every day I watch them grow and learn and I am so very proud of both of them.
There is some Alissa news.. she had been signed up for ballet! She is very excited and can't wait to dance. There will be three big performances - the Nutcracker Ballet is two of them at Chemeketa Community College in December and then in July she will be in Fantasia. I can't wait to see her on stage!! That will bring back so many fond memories. I am seriously considering starting up a children's theater here is Salem because there is nothing offered for younger kids (I think the youngest allowed in 3rd grade) and I know Alissa would benefit so much from it. I already have a costume lady!! Hehe.. So anyways.. life is good. And my little ones are now playing together and side by side. And as always I open my eyes and wonder where all the time has gone.