Our week... was GREAT!

We had, yet another fun and busy week!

To keep this post somewhat less than novel length, I tried to keep with mostly pictures.

We hope that you enjoy some great pictures I was able to capture of the munchkins this week...

Maggie is doing so GREAT with her walking... she is walking more and more every day, and we all could not be more proud of her!

 Miss Maggie after bath and getting her hair dried. While I was drying her hair she was looking through all of my headbands, and picked this one out, and kept trying to put it on her head... I helped her out... and think it looks pretty darn cute on her! :)

 Our pretty lady, all ready for bed... (yes, the headband came off :p)

 Ummm... I think I'm ready to go and say "Night Night" to Daddy and Jack.

ANOTHER DISHWASHER?

How lucky can this Mama get?

 As I was doing dishes, Maggie crawled up into the dishwasher.

After the cute and quick photo-op, she was off, and no longer allowed to climb on there.

When I told her No, and that it was Dangerous, she just giggled at me... Oh, Maggie!

 All smiles, until she was taken off, and realized that Mama wasn't gonna let her do that again...

 Sorry, Maggs... I know it was fun for the moment... but, someday you won't even like loading the dishwasher, I know so hard for you and your BROTHER to ever imagine!

BOULDER COMES for a PLAYDATE!!!

(and his Daddy & Mommy, Jay and Stefanie)

Boulder is Jack's love. Seriously. Boulder is our great friend's, Jay & Stefanie's dog. He is still a puppy, but a total sweetheart and full of energy. Jack LOVES him. He had come with them when they joined us for Thanksgiving, and ever since then, all we hear about is Boulder, Boulder, Boulder. So, when we asked Jack what he wanted to do last weekend, and if he wanted to have a playdate, he promptly said "yes", and "with Boulder". That's when you know your kiddo LOVES dogs!!! They had beyond a fun time together chasing and running all over the house. Maggie, on the other hand, is not the biggest Boulder fan - but a HUGE Stefanie & Jay fan! :)

 Maggie relaxing with Jay!

Maggie: "It's much safer up here with Jay, than on the floor with crazy Jack and Boulder!"

 Our friend, Boulder.

He won't get much bigger than he is now, and he is asolutely gorgeous. His breed is called, Vizsla - and he is really one of the most gorgeous dogs. Not to mention, fun, outgoing personality - that Jack loves... as he's just like Jack! HA!!!

 Jack + Boulder = BFF's!!!

 Stefanie and Jack playing. She is the sweetest friend... she absolutely adores Jack and Maggie, and is always up for playing with them... and Jack takes total advantage of her being so much fun! :p

 Maggie loves Stefanie (as we all do!)... she much rather preferred playing with Stefanie, over playing with Jack and Boulder!

 Stef and Maggs

Thank you, Jay & Stefanie for always being so great with our munchkins! We adore you both, and of course, sweet Boulder too! We had such a great time with you 3, and can't wait to see you all again soon!!!

Ummm... bedtime?

No thanks!

 Jack isn't feeling the "Time for Bed" theme...

 Smiley! Ready for Bed!!!

 Apparently acting like a bat, might allow you to become nocturnal, which means no bedtime...

 Good imagination and idea, Jack... but, you're hitting the hay, like a "kid boy"

(that is what he calls himself & Maggie is either a "baby girl" or "kid girl" - I guess just in case we forget their gender...)

FRIENDS ARE THE BEST!!!

One of very best friend's Kara, was able to stop by for a bit this week, after an interview she had in Portland. I had told Jack she was coming, and he was beyond excited! He kept saying "she's my friend too!". He asked for Kara to read him his naptime story ... so very sweet.

He had a hard time when she had to go, but we promised that we would go and visit her soon!

 Reading "Biscuit" - one of Jack's favorites right now. It's about "Biscuit the Dog", who has a hard time going to bed... and keeps up with his excuses...

hmmmm.... sounds a bit familiar to someone I know! :)

 We loved having you visit, Kara. Even if you could only stay for a bit! We love and miss you! And, are so proud of you... (she is finishing her last year of Law School)! We look forward to our visit to your house, and of course, your upcoming Graduation!!! xoxo

Time for some Building and Doll Bed Playing...

Jack loving playing with his power tools... and building "houses, fixing Maggie's doll bed (that is new, and not broken :p)", and is willing to "fix"just about anything needed...

Jack the Builder!

 

Maggie, you aren't a dolly! Silly girl!

 

There ya go... it's for your babies...

 

Maggs, we're thinking you're a little too big for the dolly bed :P

 

Onto some different toys...

 Jack relaxing and waiting for Daddy to get home...
(ps. he is starting to become a no-napper, UGH!!! so on the days he refuses to nap, this is usually him by about 4:30pm!)

 Tea Time!

Maggie spies someone... it's... Daddy!!!

 YAY! Daddy's home!

Jack's turn first!

Maggie is patiently waiting her turn for Daddy cuddles!!!

 Loving Daddy!!!

 Our little guy - being so patient with Mama taking his picture!

He's not big on having his picture taken... so this was a rare moment... Thanks Jack!

You make Mama proud, not to mention, you are oh so handsome!!!

 Maggie back to the baby bed after Daddy came home... still thinking it's a bed for her :p

 Hmmm... Cookie Monster fit pretty good. I guess it could be a bed for him!

 Taking care of "babies" is exhausting... I need a break, and a big drink of water!

 

Mmmmmm....

 Much better!

But, boy am I tired... those babies wore me out! I think I'm going to have to hit the hay early tonight, as tomorrow is another day in the life of me taking care of Cookie Monster and all of my other "babies"...

Again, we had a fun and busy week - that included Gymboree, playdates, friends visiting, physical therapy for Maggie, and a whole lot of fun!

Happy Saturday!

Enjoy the sunshine, even if it is chilly!

Lots of Love!

The Weeks

ATTENTION: We've got a walker!

Maggie's a WALKER!!!

Wahoo!

We are so proud of our little munchkin!

She just took off Sunday night!!! We all started screaming, clapping, crying (ok, just Mama - but tears of joy!!) and rooting her on. Jack was just as excited as Brian and I were. It was so incredibly sweet to see him cheering her on, giving her hugs, and telling her how proud he was of her!!!

Enjoy the video(s)... apologies in advance for the videography... we had to pull out the old camera, as I'm still struggling with working the video on the new camera... BUT, we still get to share our little lady with all of you, regardless of it being sideways, etc.

Yes, the first one begins with a little "tickle monster" and lots of Jack singing Old McDonald in the background. :) Also, our family room playroom, tends to look like this on a daily basis... oy vey!

We can't wait to see Stephanie, Maggie's Physical Therapist tomorrow... and show off!!! She will be just as proud of Miss Maggs as we are!!!

please, please, please, excuse the sideways videography in this one (I will be working on the video on the new camera soon!!!).... but, DO enjoy Old McDonald being sung again in the background, and Maggie adding in her own little "quack quacks"... :)

We also had fun at Gymboree today, and were so happy to have Brian be able to join us.
The kiddos, as always, had a blast! As, you can see!!!

As you can see, Gymboree was GREAT! Today's theme was "cars/trucks/automobiles" - hence, Jack running around with a mini hoola hoop, pretending it was a steering wheel! :)
I love seeing them have so much fun, and get SO MUCH energy out!
Way to go, Jack and Maggie! Another great day with my 2 favorite kiddos, and #1 BEST husband ever!!!

We still do love our Ducks... !!!

We were definitely disappointed by the University of Oregon BCS loss on Monday night, but we still love our Ducks, no matter what! And, they played a GREAT and HARD game! We also had a lot of fun watching the game, with all of us cheering, Brian jumping out of his chair (on more occassions than I can count), as well as screaming so much that Jack said to him, "Daddy, you're being too loud and hurting my ears... I'm trying to color"... apparently it takes a lot of concentration and quiet to color.

Maggie also had fun, but missed the 2nd half of the game - as she was a worn out little lady, and ready to hit the hay!

However, we all showed our Duck spirit throughout the day, starting with Gymboree... always SO.MUCH.FUN!

Jack loves every second, and Maggie is becoming more and more brave each week!

Whoopsies... Maggie had been standing and observing for a while when we first got there, but by the time I got everything situated, and camera out... down she went! :p Silly Girl!!!

Jack "helping" Maggie down the slide... :) She didn't seem to mind at first, but then she wanted either to do it all by herself or have me help her! Jack was fine with that... off to the trampoline and balance beam he ran!

Looking a little unsure...

Now we know she does LOVE the slide! She was so cute, everytime she would go down, she would start hysterically laughing when she hit the floor. And, then would sign "more"... !!! She was a sliding machine!!!

All ready for bed.... bath, jammies, hair dried, books, milk, teeth brushed...

But, before crashing in her crib, she had to go and check on the boys... and we soon found out Jack was up to some serious funny business!!!

Hey Jack!

(he was "telling" Maggie and I all about the game...) :p

"Yeah, I'm talkin' about Oregon!"... "GO DUCKS!!!"

"OOOOOOOOOOO"

FUTURE Crazy Duck!!!

Make that a REALLY CUTE CRAZY Future Duck!!!

With the BEST laugh EVER!

"Rock on, Oregon"???

"WAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOO!"

ps. he did have a small piece of cheesecake, so these are somewhat sugar high pictures!!!

However, he does look like a future Frat Boy... oy vey... we gotta get that under control N.O.W.!

Again, crazy boy... who knew a little (ok, probably a lot) of sugar could do this to a 3 year old. Well, I think Brian and I both did... hence why he rarely gets it... and this is proof of what occurs when he does... :p

We love our little Duck Fans!!! Way to go Jack and Maggie! You both represented Oregon well. We are proud you are such die-hard Duck Fans, and showed some true spirit this year!

We had an incredibly busy, fun, crazy, adventurous, insane and definitely less than ordinary week/month/year/s... but that seems to be our life. And, we have learned to embrace it, and actually enjoy a life less ordinary. Ordinary is "so boring", as Jack would tell you... and so we like living our lives less ordinary... how could we not, look at those two crazy cats above that we love and adore, but definitely make this house ... C.R.A.Z.Y. (ie. Less Than Ordinary, that is for sure!)

(click on the play button on above video... for a great song... all about living a life less ordinary - ps. obviously pictures are not ours... but, some amazing ones to see!) Enjoy!

We have lots more to share - just from this week (!!!), but, for now, this Mama is off to get a few more things done before heading to dreamland.

We hope you all had a wonderful week, and are ready to enjoy your weekend...

WE SURE ARE!!!

"Use Words that Heal, Not Wound..." - President Obama

I (Brian) felt like I should make my second post ever to this blog after listening to and reading President Obama's Condolence Speech at the Memorial to those who lost their lives and were injured in last weekends shooting in Arizona.  Though this blog isn't about politics, I feel the President's message regarding how we should treat oneanother is important and needs to be shared.  I cannot stand it when people preach hatred against others simply because they disagree with what a person is doing or believes.  It makes for a toxic world of negativity.  I am hopeful that people will stop and think about how their words will impact others before speaking.  Like President Obama said today... WE CAN DO BETTER!!! I know I am going to try to be a better person and treat others like I would like to be treated. 

I leave with you my favorite piece of his speech:

"At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized--at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do--it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds" 

-President Obama, January 12, 2011

I have also included the link to his entire speech, which I encourage all to watch.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/part-barack-obama-consoles-nation-tucson-arizona-shooting-memorial-gabrielle-giffords-12604000&tab=9482931&section=1206833