Look Mom, No Hands!!!

Rattlesnake Lake

Rattlesnake lake is a just a few miles from us but we have never officially checked it out. I've hiked Rattlesnake Ridge (the mountain you see behind Jeff & M in the picture below) a few times in the past but have never enjoyed the lake so we decided to head up there on Friday afternoon. It was gorgeous and a lot of fun! We brought our chairs and enjoyed the sunshine while Madeleine played in the water. We will definately go again now that we know how much fun it is. It is too close not to!

The letter "m"

Madeleine & I have started to practice writing some letters, starting with lowercase "m" for her name. She doesn't have the shortest amount or easiest of letters in her name but we are giving it a try. Here are a few pics of her lowercase "m". She was very proud of herself! She doesn't like to practice the BIG "M" and even said, "see mama, I am good at the little m" - ha!

Rice Cereal!

Somebody likes their rice cereal! Braden popped his first tooth so we thought it was Mother Nature's way of telling us that he might be ready to try some food! We whipped him up some rice cereal and he ate it with a smile on his face...unlike his big sissy who didn't like rice cereal (who can blame her?). Madeleine was very excited to help feed her little brother and she gave it a shot (video below). He is just growing up so fast...time is flying by.

Outdoor Fun!

We had a nice, relaxing day at home. We got out the pool for Madeleine and the walker for Braden and hung-out in the backyard all afternoon. Jeff even brought out Madeleine's slide so she could slide into the pool...the had lots of fun!

Caspar Babypants on the Kirkland Waterfront

Madeleine, Taylor & Lauren rocked out on the Kirkland waterfront while listening to Caspar Babypants. The outdoor concert was so much fun and the kids had quite a dance party!

Pony Ride!

Madeleine & I headed down to the Saturday Farmer's Market for some yummy fruit and some treats this weekend. They had pony rides too and Madeleine enjoyed riding Rusty!

Sitting, Giggles, First Tooth!

Braden is growing up so fast! He just popped his first tooth this week! He's been jamming his little hands in his mouth for a few weeks and drooling like a champ so we wondered if he was teething. Sure enough, one of his bottom front teeth has popped through. He was quite the little rockstar through it though...a little tylenol, some baby oragel and he still slept through the night. Mommy & Daddy were very happy :-)

Braden can also sit for a split second. I wouldn't count it as him actually sitting yet but Jeff's thinks we should :-)

And, we love to hear our little guy giggle! He loves kisses on his neck from daddy, mommy and sissy...it makes him giggle and giggle. So cute! We will have to post a video soon.

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

July has been the month of weddings for us! 3 weddings total for us this month and last night was our last wedding. They were all so much fun! I love weddings! We celebrated Rav & Vanessa in the beginning of July just down in Renton. Jeff's family was in town so we had a full on date night. The reception was a lot of fun and a lot of creativity was put into it.

Next we celebrated Matt & Mindee in Bellevue...at Maggiano's! Not only did we get to celebrate our friends getting married but we got another date night AND all of my mommy friends were there WITHOUT the kids so we actually got to TALK! Imagine that?! Mindee looked amazing and, as usual, planned their wedding perfectly! It was so much fun and the food was delicious! A very special moment to celebrate a very good friend!

Finally, we celebrated Bryce & Lynn in Olympia. We saw all of Jeff's friends there and got to catch up with everyone. The reception was held at the Olympia Flight Museum (pictures below). Very cool venue! Braden came along with us and Madeleine went on her very 1st sleep over at a friends house - the twins, Amanda & Sophie. So far, so good...it's 7am and I haven't heard anything yet so I am assuming they slept well and everything went okay. We'll see!

Congratulations to all of our friends...we really enjoyed celebrating with you all at your special event!

Braden danced with us during the "Anniversary Dance"!

Artist for a Day

Madeleine completed her first week of summer camp, "Artist for a Day". She had so much fun! I am so that mom who is going to frame the artwork - ha! She seriously came home with some pretty cool stuff!

Summer Camp!

Madeleine is attending her first summer camp this week - Artist for a Day! She is really enjoying it and is quite the big girl going all by herself! Each day they learn about a different artist, from Picasso to Michael Angelo. They read books about the artist, look at what kind of art they created and then do that kind of art themselves. She is bringing home her "portfolio" on Friday :-)

Jumping, Jumping, Jumping!

Braden is getting so BIG! He's over his bouncy seat and onto the fun stuff...his jumperoo! He loves to jump around and will do it forever. This is his new favorite place to be!

Good-bye Papa & Mimi

We had a fun-filled, busy week with Papa & Mimi. Madeleine will miss her playmates and Braden will miss all the snuggles! Hopefully we'll all be able to get together again soon!

Thumbsucker!

We may have a thumbsucker on our hands...he's been doing this a lot lately!

Bainbridge

We took our annual trip to Bainbridge with Papa & Mimi...but I forgot my camera. Jeff snapped this one of me & the kids on the way over with my phone. We picked a beautiful day to be out on the water. We had lunch on the water, I bought my candles and we stopped at the bakery on the walk back to the ferry...who doesn't love traditions?!

Both kids did great! Braden slept in the stroller and the ergo...he started to suck his thumb while sleeping in the ergo too. We'll see if this is a new habit or not!

Braden is 4-months old!

We had Braden's 4-month appointment today! He is looking healthy - 98% for weight, 96% for height and 72% for head circumference. A big boy! Afterwards, we headed to the Kirkland waterfront for lunch! Madeleine stayed home with Mimi and played. She was busy taking walks and having a picnic with Mimi so she didn't miss us :-)

Celebrating the 4th!

We celebrated the 4th over at my parents house this year. It was also Kathryn's 2nd Birthday and my Grandpa's 85th Birthday! The girls played in the pool and had a great time splashing around! The rest of us relaxed and ate way too much food!

Braden with his Grandpas!

Kathryn opening up all her gifts!

Happy 4th of July!

S'mores!

We enjoyed our first backyard bonfire of the summer tonight complete with s'mores! Yum!!!

Papa & Mimi for a visit - 2011

Jeff's family came up for their annual visit and met Braden for the 1st time! Madeleine & Braden really like having Papa & Mimi around to play with! We started their visit off right by grilling up some oysters - welcome back the Northwest Papa & Mimi!

Deception Pass!

We headed up to Deception Pass with our families to meet the Wagar's for a day full of crabbing. We had a blast in the sunshine and caught over 30 DUNGENESS CRABS. Yum, Yum, Yum!!! We got an early start and spent the entire day playing and enjoying the amazing views. It was one of those days that you wished would never end. Thanks to the Wagars for hosting us!

Madeleine went out on a boat for the 1st time - "Bella's Boat". She had fun!

Ron & Suzette holding up one of the many crabs we cooked up!

Madeleine played and played with all her grandparents and Bella at the beach!

Little Braden was there too but he was a tired little boy most of the day and spent it snoozing in the ergo.