A Visit to the Farm

Today we visited The River Valley Cheese Farm in Fall City. It was part of The Harvest Celebration Farm Tour, a yearly event that allows us city folk to visit a variety of farms and get a small taste of farm life. We chose to visit this particular farm for two reasons. One, it was the closest one to our house, and two, they have BABY cows and goats. (The free cheese samples were an added bonus!)

Grace had a great time visiting the animals until she turned around and a calf was about an inch and a half away from her face with his tongue ready to lick her. She freaked out, but who wouldn't? Jeff didn't like it much when the same calf tried to chew his jeans. We didn't end up spending much time visiting these little cutie pies.

While we were there we also got to watch people milk goats, taste some freshly made cheese, and listen to a story teller. It was fun to show Grace an example of where the food we eat actually comes from. We're already looking forward to this event next year and are hoping to visit a few more farms on the tour!

Sitting Up

Charlie has a new trick! He can sit up all by himself!

I don't really know how he feels about it, but I am very excited! This is my favorite baby stage. He's happy to sit up and play on his own but isn't on the move yet. Now if I can just keep Grace from "helping him"...aka knocking him over! =)

Giggles

Some babies get fussy when they're over tired. Charlie gets the giggles.

Half a Year

Then...

Now...

My, how time flies! I wish it would slow down a little!

Bop's Boat

On Sunday, Grace got to go for her first ride on Bop's boat! (Bop is the name Grace chose for Jeff's dad when she was first learning to talk.) While Grace has been on the boat a couple times before now, she has never actually gotten to leave the dock... mostly (okay, completely) because of her mama's over-protectiveness. What can I say? I worry too much. It's genetic.

Anyway, after giving Grace an extra hug and kiss, I anxiously watched her and Jeff leave for the big excursion. Since I wasn't there, I can't give many details other than to say Grace had a fabulous time and "wishes" she can do it again "tomorrow". She also said she pushed a lot of buttons. I bet that was fun for everybody! =)

Here are some pictures that Jeff and his mom took.

Gracie LOVES her life jacket. I think she'd wear it all the time if we'd let her. Hmmm...maybe that's not such a bad idea!

I can just hear her..."Is that Bop's boat? ...Why? ...How come?"

"Excuse me captain, what's our ETA for lunch?"

Grace tried out the dingy while still in the big boat. I heard Bop had a great time showing Gracie all around the boat and explaining what all the buttons and gadgets did. Grace even got to drive (while they were anchored.)Two of Bop's very favorite things..spending time with Grace and being on the boat!

Thanks Grammy and Bop for a fun day on the water!

Our kids seem to be growing up quickly these days. I've already mentioned Gracie's haircut and potty training, but Charlie has also had some exciting days! He has begun eating solid food. He started with rice cereal, but after several fussy days we switched to oatmeal which he seems to like much better. He's also tried avocado, but wasn't a big fan.

His first feeding...

Whoa! What's all the excitement about?!?

Seriously? You want me to keep this in my mouth?

Hey! That was kinda fun!

It's always a challenge to get the food into his mouth because all he wants to do is chew on his bib.

One time Grace was willing to share her high chair with Charlie. We're working on getting her excited about a booster seat. Charlie looks so small in it compared to her! Notice he's still chewing on his bib!

In addition to starting solid food, Charlie is teething. He is not content unless is has something in his mouth at all times and is a drool monster. There's no sign of any popping through yet, but I'm sure they're not far away. We've also attempted to stop swaddling, but after several days of short naps and a cranky baby have decided to stick with it awhile longer. After all, if it's not broke, don't fix it, right!?! His doctor has assured me it's doing no harm, so he will continue sleeping in his little straight jacket (aka the Miracle Blanket) awhile longer.

We've called him "Charlie Bear" since the day he was born and now he's living up to his name. He has started growling all the time. It is so funny! He is also having lots of fun blowing raspberries and experimenting with mouth. He has gotten quite noisy lately!

Here are a couple cute pictures from a couple nights ago.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We've had some exciting days around here lately. Grace has begun the wonderful world of potty training, and although I had planned not to write too much about it here, I just can't NOT share this story.

I pray with Grace every night before bed. Usually I ask her what she'd like to pray about, but I do the actual praying. Tonight when I asked her what she wanted to pray about she said, "I go poo-poo in the potty!" (She had shared this information with pretty much everyone else today, why not Jesus??) I told her that I would start praying and then she could tell Jesus about going poo-poo. As I prayed, I paused for her, and in her sweetest little voice she said, "Thank you Jesus for poo-poo."

How's that for her first little prayer? Oh man, I love that girl!