Crose Baby's Arrival!

As most of you know, one of my best friend's, Niki is the most amazing, fabulous, kind-hearted and just purely sweet by nature! We have been friends since high school - both from The Dalles, and then we also both went to the University of Oregon together, and were roomates for 3 out of the 4 years we were there. So, needless to say, we are close.
I was in her wedding over 2 years ago... and since moving back to Portland, we've become even closer. She is just a pure joy to be around. She loves Jack and Maggie, and they both adore her.

Some of you may or may not know this, but Niki and her husband Matt, lost their precious daughter, Hannah Avery in March of 2009. Niki was full term, and the cause of Hannah's passing is still unknown. This, of course, was the most difficult thing as a Mother I could imagine going through. It was beyond painful to be living in Gig Harbor, WA - (Niki lives in Lake Oswego), knowing she was hurting so badly, and I couldn't be there to give her a hug. At the time, I was also pregnant with Maggie.

After, Hannah's passing, I truly realized not only are Niki and Matt amazing friends and people in general, they are the strongest and most compassionate people I have ever met. They dealt with the worst situation imaginable, but just for example, Niki still attended my baby shower for Maggie. That shows what an amazingly strong person she is. Again, that is just one small example of her strength, I could go on and on with how strong she and Matt both are!

Well... when I found out she was pregnant in late January- I was over the MOON with excitment for both she and Matt. I knew it would be a hard, difficult, emotional and looooong 9 months for the both of them. But, again, knew that they are strong, and would rely on all the hard work they had done in working through their grief with Hannah's death, and try and make it the best 9 months possible.

But, I can say with tears in my eyes, and the biggest smile that last night - August 24th, at 10:54pm, Niki gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy! He is absolutely perfect!
He was born at 37 weeks, after an amnio was done to show that his lungs were developed, and he is pure beauty. He weighed 7lbs, 7oz., and 20.5" long.

So, I'd love to tell all of you how proud I am of Niki and Matt... and welcome with the MOST JOY, Mr. Jackson Thomas Crose.

Is he not the sweetest, cutest baby ever! Look at those pink cheeks! Pure love! And, he does have hair under that hat (one of the 1st things I asked Niki :) )... He is so precious, and truly a blessing to their entire family & friends!

Jackson is a family name for them, and we are quite honored that they like the name as much as we do! When I told our Jack about baby Jackson, he was more excited that baby Jackson's middle name was Thomas - like Thomas the Train :) HA!

I cannot wait to meet this little guy and cuddle him. He is going to be a very loved and nurtured baby, as he truly does have the most amazing parents ever!
Love to the Crose's!!! xoxo

The BEACH!

Seaside, OR ... we made it, with very little crying, fussing, whining, or screaming coming from the back seat... which was WONDERFUL! This was Maggie's first car ride with her car seat facing forward, and we think she is a BIG FAN of it. She even fell asleep on the way there, and home... which is unheard of for this little lady. She would never fall asleep in the car before, so let's hope this is the trick, and we can begin taking trips longer than 5 minutes in the car, before the screaming begins!

Pure Bliss for all in the car!

Maggie's pure look of excitement at the beach & ocean! It was her first time going to the beach, and seemed to enjoy every minute of it!

Jack had been to the beach before, but as a little guy. He was a bit unsure of the sand at first, but then LOVED it. He is definitely a beachy kinda guy!

Maggie feelin' out the sand... unsure at this moment, but not for long... :)

Jack and Daddy coming back from the water... Jack was a bit hesitant about putting his feet in the water, and when he did, wasn't the biggest fan... but, we think with more trips to the ocean, he'll start to see how fun it can be!

Lots of playing in the sand... and a few "castles" built... ie. hills o' sand... , but never were up long enough for a picture, before the fun of smashing them down came!

Really happy boy at the beach! He had so much fun! Definitely seems to be one of his favorite traveling adventures thus far!

Mommy & Maggie ... braving the wind!

Daddy and Maggie! Such cuties!!!

Beach BABE!

Beach STUD!

Windy... but, still enjoying sandy animal crackers! :)

Sharing animal crackers... had to get a picture of this... as it is a rare moment...

Such a happy girl playing with her toys!

And, of course, no beach trip would be complete without ICE CREAM!

PLEEEEASE, can I have some... yes, you can Maggie. She tried some of mine, and LOVED it, but after a few bites, was done.

In the car, heading home... Maggie does not want to hear or talk about going home... the beach is too much fun!

Home, Bath, Pajamas, Book, Milk, B.E.D.! What a great day we had!!!

We all had a wonderful day... it was so nice to get away for the day, and enjoy the gorgeous ocean, and all of the fun Seaside has to offer! Both munchkins had the best time, and were so great... no naps, besides in the car, and there didn't seem to be any significant meltdowns. I think this mini trip really helped prove to Brian and I that we can take longer trips, and the kids are up for it... and LOVE it! Let's hope the trend continues...

ps. Note: not as many pics of Jack, as he is still in his "DO NOT TAKE MY PICTURE" stage... I'm really hoping that passes soon! :p

Let's get this weekend started!

We had a fairly uneventful, yet some what eventful week - does that make sense? No? I know...
The beginning of the week started out really overcast, cloudy and COLD! And, ended sunny, hot and FUN! We really enjoy the days that include sun, so we can get outside!!!



I went in for a physical this week with a new Dr., and due to various symptoms, and testing that was done, they are suspecting that I have an allergen to Gluten. I had no idea! I have always suffered stomach aches, but never thought of Gluten. Gluten can also cause headaches/migraines, weight loss, severe tummy aches, etc. (I'll spare you the gory details). So, I am now on a Gluten Free Diet. She thinks I could potentially have Celiac's Disease, which is just a severe allergen to Gluten, but rather than doing more invasive testing, would like me to try going Gluten Free for a while, and see if that helps with symptoms, and then go back in for some more testing. NOT FUN! But, somewhat relieving to know that some of my stomach issues (especially!!!) may go away if I stay Gluten Free. However, this is much easier said & read than done! Gluten is in any type of wheat, rye, barley and oats. However, some people can tolerate oats... but, for now, none of that for me.
I'll keep you posted and see how it goes!



Another piece of news... we have decided that Jack will go to a little Preschool beginning in November. He has to be 3, so he'll begin in November! He is so excited. We visited this week, and he can't stop talking about it. He tells everyone he sees how he'll be going to "Sweet Peas" (his preschool's name) when he turns 3! I'm glad that he is excited and he feels happy and comfortable there. He'll be going two mornings a week. This will be great for him to be socializing with other 3 year olds.






As well as for Maggie and I to have some time to ourselves, and maybe find an activity for us! I always feel like she is getting forgotten :(. She is the happiest baby though, so I must remember, that she is loving life, and everything that entales. Even if it's a push over by her big brother once in a while.



That is it for us... WAHOO for the weekend!!!! Can't wait to have a little down time, hopefully some time to work in the yard, seeing my fabulous friend Kara, and maybe a little trip to Ikea... yes, I did once DESPISE Ikea, but it is slowly growing on me... and well, I haven't been there in a really long time. I did set specific rules as to where and what I will look at. :)
Tomorrow is an experiment, it could be my last trip to Ikea, or the beginning of a new true love :)











Here are some fun pictures from this week...
OH, I have been in crafting mode, as well. The info. on that is to come... I have before pics, but want to wait until I'm done (don't give me a timeline :p), and then I'll show you what I have been up to while the munchkins are napping :)


Yes that is a chip on her chin ... she has decided she like tortilla chips... :)


Jack enjoying dinner!


My two favorite guys!!!


Such a big girl... FYI: I LOVE the stool she is sitting on, & it's from none other than... IKEA!


Hanging out, watching Mama water the plants/flowers...


Silly Morning Boy!


VERY Happy Morning Girl!


Checking out Sweet Peas indoor play fun... yes, that's Jack in there, if you can find him among all of the balls... :)


Maggie opted out of the ballpit fun, and instead had fun with some little balls on the mats... I think she made a good choice!


Summer is FUN!


YES to ice cream cones!

An uneventful week, but still fun!!! :)

This has been a bit of a crazy, fast, yet somewhat uneventful week for us. Brian's good friend from high school, Cody has been staying with us all week. He lives in Mattawa, WA with his wife and two munchkins. He has been taking some classes for his job (teacher) in Vancouver, so it's been fun having him here in the evenings. Jack has LOVED having him here. He will be sad to see Cody go, however, I think Cody's cuties will be happy to have their Daddy home!

We, again, have spent a week with a lot of outside time. I have been working in the front and backyards. The front is somewhat acceptable looking at this point, however the back is in need of a more than a little TLC. So, Jack has been a great helper with his little gardening gloves and tools helping me clean out the garden beds, so hopefully next year we can have some type of garden.
He is very interested in digging, raking, and finding rocks. However, at times this interferes with the work I have done; ie. when I finally have a clean spot, and a big pile of rocks/dirt/pinecones end up in it :)
He is also a HUGE fan of watering all of the flowers, bushes, etc. He's gotten pretty good at it, however once in a while he'll get a wild streak, and you gotta watch out. I think Buster has gotten a good spray, as has Maggie and myself... not sure if he's made it to Brian yet... I'm sure his time is coming. :)

Brian's parents are here this weekend. We absolutely love having them here. They are such a help with the kids, and they love every minute they spend with Jack & Maggie. And, of course, Jack and Maggie just can't get enough of them. It's always a hard and sad good-bye when they have to head home.
It's been a difficult adjustment to go from seeing them almost every weekend, to only about 1x p/month. We miss them tremendously! We are always eager when they can come visit us, or when we are able to come and visit them.
Unfortunately, Miss Maggs has let us all know how much she dislikes riding in the car, by screaming... and I mean, SCREAMING! And, then Jack starts the competetion of who can scream louder, to say the least... long car rides are not in our future any time soon, until we can get her little "issue" under control!

Maggie is showing us she is really ready to walk! She is FINALLY crawling, like normal, rather than her silly military crawl. She is also, pulling herself up onto things, and today after her nap, we found her in her crib standing up, holding on to the railing jumping up and down! HA! Time to lower that mattress!!!
She is full of happiness, and is so fun to watch. She is so smiley and just an overall happy lil' lady... but, also VERY determined. She gets where she wants, gets what she wants, and if her brother doesn't agree, she does try to put up a fight at times... although she usually loses :(. But, she'll be catching up to him soon enough!

We're looking forward to another fun, and hopefully nice weather filled week!

Hope you all do as well!
Hugs from us all!
xoxo