Playing in the Fountains

     Since the weather has been a little on the warm side (sometimes reaching 80 degrees... sheesh! Talk about scorching temperatures.... lol) we have been spending some time at the local fountains. There are fountains everywhere! It's so great because not only are they free, but I don't have to worry about keeping 2 kids afloat in a swimming pool, and we all get cooled down. It's a win-win situation for all of us. :)
     Today we went with some friends to the "Pearl District" in downtown Portland. We went to this little place called Jamison Square (featured below) that allowed the kids to wade in the little pool area and play on the rocks.

     Obviously I didn't take this picture, because there were tons of people there... so here's what it looked like today...

     Not only have we gone to Jamison Square, but last Saturday, we went to a little park about 15 minutes away that has fountains. It's right by a soccer field (with actual turf... not grass. It's the nicest soccer field I have ever seen!) that isn't as crowded.

      It was really funny to watch Ava go through the fountains. She was really hesitant until I practically had to run through them with her. Even then, she just like dipping her feet in the water. And for some reason, Halle was a little grumpy that day...

     After playing in the fountains, we headed over to the actual park area where Ava and Halle teeter-tottered for the first time. (With a little help from Daddy...) We wrapped the Saturday afternoon outing by swinging. Oh, but these are the coolest swings ever! You can fit like 6 kids on them... I want one for our yard... you know, in a couple of decades when we actually get a house. :)

     So far we have loved the weather here. It has stayed in the mid 70s, and we're going into a little heat wave. But at night, it cools down and I love the random rain storms. I look at the weather every day in Salt Lake and I pretty much gag myself... jk. But if any of you are in need of some cooler weather... just take a nice little road trip up here!

Miss Halle

I think it's time to write a little about Miss Halle.

Halle is one month shy of her 2nd birthday,

and is such a little character.

Sometimes I feel bad because I missed this stage with Ava.

When Ava was 1 month away from her second birthday,

I was taking care of a preemie, surviving on 1 hour of sleep between feedings,

and recovering from a life threatening pregnancy complication.

Needless to say,

I was a zombie.

So, it's like I'm really experiencing this stage for the first time.

It's so fun to see how Halle plays with Ava.

She just adores anything Ava does, and loves to mimic her.

I love hearing her play "Bahbees".

She gets the cutest, high pitched voice, and just jibber jabbers away.

Halle is extremely expressive, and has been since day one.

She can be extremely giggly and happy one minute,

and the next,

she will be moody and so intense.

It's hard to explain.

When she was about 6 months old, she decided she didn't want the binky anymore,

so she stopped taking it. It was so nice not to have to take the binky away and

The same has happened with her crib.

She has decided she doesn't like falling asleep in it,

and so she now falls asleep in the toddler bed.

I just set her in there,

and she usually comes to the door and  yells my name,

but after 5 minutes or so, she climbs into the bed and falls asleep.

It was nice not have to worry about that transition.

Halle is such a tiny little thing.

She has no meat on her bones.

You can see the outline of her biceps,

and she seriously has rock hard abs.

I'm not joking.

And her cute little legs are so skinny,

her thighs don't even touch.

And she has the cutest walk.

Halle is also extremely strong.

It's kind of freaky!

She loves to sit straight up (without the help of her arms)

when I change her diaper. (Hence, the rock hard abs.)

She also loves to pull out our kitchen drawer and swing from it.

Sometimes, it takes all my strength to pull her away from something.

She loves to be flipped and tossed into the air,

and loves to launch herself backwards when I'm holding her.

I have to be pay attention every second, or she'll flip out of my arms.

We are so glad to have her in our family.

She has been a challenge, and I feel like I've had to learn to be a parent 

again because what works with Ava doesn't work with Halle.

Hals has done things on her own time, and I just have to step away and let her be.

The love I have for her is indescribable.

I love Ava just as much as I do Halle,
but it's different with each child.
I feel like I'm a lot more patient with Halle,
and I don't know if that is because she's the second child
and I have learned to let some things go,
or if I'm a little protective of her because of her crazy beginning.
Who knows...
But I do know that she was meant to be our daughter.
I knew her before we came to this earth,
and I felt her spirit even before she was born.

Shhh....

The house is quiet.

The girls are asleep.

Nate's at guys night.

I'm all alone.

And I've just popped some 

movie theater popcorn,

poured me an ice cold Diet Coke with extra ice,

and I'm going to sit on the couch

and watch a couple of episodes of Bones.

Shhh....

Cee Cee's Corner

I started another blog.

My canning blog kind of went nowhere...

I had every intention of canning,

but life just got super crazy,

and it flopped.

But that's ok. :)

So, I was a little hesitant to start another blog.

I mean, there are thousands upon thousands of other 

"crafting" blogs, so why would mine be any different?

I'm not a crafting genius by any means,

but I do dabble in them.

And all of you know that I have taken up baking...

so why not share my experiences with others?

I have decided to not only post about crafting and baking,

but I have a Kids Corner where I post about activities I do with my kiddos,

and also I have a Simple Solutions post about once a week

where I just share a little tidbit of information that has helped me 

simplify my life.

I also make cupcakes every week for Nate's work,

so I share those recipes because I love a good cupcake!

And let me tell you,

it's been sorta, kinda, ok... really fun doing it!

It's fun to see how many people have view my blog,

and I was super excited when people I didn't know started following my blog.

I have participated in a couple of linky parties,

and I was actually featured!

Holy cow!

I was seriously speechless that something I made stood out

enough for me to be featured!

It's just been really exciting for me,

and it's my little corner of the world.

You can check Cee Cee's Corner out at

ceecees-corner.blogspot.com.

Here are some of the things I have posted...

Kids Corner

 Goop... this was a great way to teach Ava about mixing colors

to get a new color.

Pudding Painting...

I made some pudding and let my kids have at it in the bathtub.

They had so much fun!

Crafts

Food

 Frozen Fruit Bites

Chili Chicken Sandwiches

and here are a couple of samples of the cupcakes I have made...

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Peanut Butter Cupcakes... with a peanut butter filling.

I love trying new recipes! And what's fun is Nate loves to come up with new ideas

as well! We have loved baking together and talking about different recipes.

Some day we would love to open up a little bakery,

so I feel this is a great time to experiment and have fun!

Miss Ava

 
  I thought I would just take a little minute to blog about my Ava. She is the sweetest thing, and I just love her. We have our battles, but I have learned so much from her. She just loves to "snuggle" and has one of the most sensitive souls I have ever met. She is very tender hearted, which has taught me how to be more caring and compassionate. She will walk around the house and just make up little songs, and I can't help but smile at her active imagination. I love to hear the conversations her Barbies have, and she has taken to carrying a bazillion stuffed animals around, or I usually find them lined up somewhere...

 
     But what I love most about Ava is her simple testimony. She loves her Father in Heaven.  Every time we say a prayer (which is breakfast, lunch, dinner, before bed, and before FHE) she quickly raises her hand and volunteers. I love to watch her face as she prays because she scrunches up her nose and really thinks about what she is saying. Her prayers are becoming longer and more personal. The other day, she fell and scraped her knee pretty bad. We came home and cleaned it up, and then she looked at me and said, "Mom, we need to say a prayer for my knees." I told her that was a great idea, and asked her if she wanted to say it, and surprisingly, she said no. She wanted me to say it. Well, this was kind of hard because I knew her knees weren't going to be instantly healed the minute we were done praying, so I prayed that she would be comforted and that she wouldn't feel anymore pain. When we were done, she told me her knees felt better and that Jesus healed them. The rest of the day she walked around telling me how Jesus healed her knees. We were opening our bank account here, and she even told the guy that was helping us about her knees. :)
     I was impressed that she knew she could turn to prayer when she was hurt and that her Father in Heaven cares about her, even when it's just a little scraped knee. She knows He loves her.
    That single event was a huge eye opener for me. Ava really does watch what Nate and I do. She listens to the words we say, even when we don't know she's listening. I realized that I am doing more for her than I thought I was.

 
  I learned that I need Ava more than she needs me. I need her simplicity, her faith, her tenderness, and I even need her playful side to lighten me up a bit. :) I love her little hugs and the fact that whenever we go somewhere, she is right by my side.