Just before Todd left for Korea we had a fun weekend with Aunt Ruthann. We didn't do anything big or major, just enjoyed the nice weather and time together. It was the first time Ruthann got to see Portland in the sun. Every other time she has visited it had been cloudy and raining. Even last year when she came in June we had an unusual amount of rain. It was chilly, but thankfully there was a  lot of nice sun.

Saturday we went into Portland. Hailee had a class in the morning and then we discovered a fun little cafe by where her class is located. After we picked up her we decided to stop in for a snack. We quickly found out how hungry the kids were. James discovered a new favorite food. They had the best cinnamon rolls made with croissant type bread. I was disappointed that they had run out of their chocolate croissants. With James I started breaking off pieces for him to eat, but it wasn't long before he started complaining. I wasn't sure what the matter was, until he grabbed the entire cinnamon roll from me and took a huge bite. I didn't get anymore after that. It was quite funny.

Hailee and Todd finishing up their treats.

Spring is just around the corner and it definitely felt that way at Pittock Mansion. After hanging out in Portland in the morning we came home and let James get a nap, then in the afternoon we went to Pittock Mansion. It was a beautiful day. It's a beautiful view of the city and today was clearest it's been while we've visited. We also decided to not just enjoy the beauty outside, but check out the inside as well. It was fun to see their beautiful house. You can tell a lot of work went in to planning and all the finishing details. It was beautiful.

 Hailee loved looking at the house, so I think she is going to love Germany. James on the other had love causing a little trouble. I may need to invest in a child leash system for that kid. 

We had such a great time with Aunt Ruthann. We also got to go to our favorite area of Portland on Monday before she went home. As always her visit was too short, but lots of fun. 

Class seamstress

Way back at the beginning of school it was time to go to back-to-school night. James, unfortunately, had gotten hand, foot, and mouth disease and we all couldn't go. I sent Todd with Hailee and told him to sign me up for some things to help with Hailee's class. I was more than a little surprised when he signed me up for a sewing project. I do own a sewing machine, but honestly I am not a sewer by any stretch of the imagination. Thankfully the project Hailee's teacher wanted done was a simple bag that fit on the back of the chairs. I even had some fabric that I was going to use to recover a chair (that we no longer own) that would work perfect. It was quite a bit of work but I got 36 bags made for her class.

Top row: Keaun, Sean, Madison, Trinity, Aimerie, Delany, Dylan, Leo, Aiden. Next row standing: Riley and Juan Carlos. Next row sitting: Austin, Vittoria, Alisa, Zahira, Hailee, Jordyn, Niki, Alliyah, Tori. Bottom row: Myles, Braden, Jonya, Martin, Charles, Andrew, Aaron


Fast forward a few months and it's time for the school auction. Every class is responsible for making a basket to raffle off and a class project to auction. Her teacher was having a few problems getting volunteers so she asked me if I could make a blanket. We decided to let the kids draw with fabric paint on squares and then I would piece together the quilt. We decided on a bug theme and the kids did a great job drawing on the fabric. One of my good friends (her daughter is in Hailee's class) helped me get all that together and then it just took piecing it together. It's very simple, this is only my third quilt I've ever made, and I was a little nervous that nobody would want to buy it. When I took it to Hailee's class the kids were thrilled and although we had to miss the auction because Hailee was sick, there were a few people bidding on it and it went for a good price to help the school. I informed Todd that the next time he volunteered me to be the class seamstress I was going to need a better sewing machine. My refurbished brother sewing machine we got on overstock when we were in school just isn't going to cut it anymore. I very much prefer sewing things for my family...sewing for someone to buy is just too nerve wracking.

When we were picking out fabric to go with the quilt Hailee was thrilled to find this print. It had flowers that would work for the bug theme, but it was also West Union blue. She just knew it would be perfect. It did turn out quite cute. She was a little sad we didn't get to keep the blanket, but we have the pictures and I told her maybe we could make another one.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

 Well it's officially official, our family is on it's way to Germany for two months. Todd has gone back and forth a few times over the last couple of months and they decided that they needed him longer that his two week stints. Since it's going to be longer than two weeks Intel has decided to send the whole family. Because of visa issues we can only stay two months (getting a work visa takes too long because they need the help now). Todd will be doing finance training for a recently purchased company. We would love for it to be longer, but it's hard to complain since we all get to go together.

At first Hailee wasn't really sure what to think about moving to Germany. She was worried about missing her friends. As things have gotten closer and she understands a little bit more she is getting quite excited. We got her a little book with CD's to learn German and she has decided she is very excited. On Sunday I asked her if she wanted to see pictures of where we were going to be moving and she said, "No mom...I want to be surprised!" It's going to be a whole new world for her and I'm so excited. James on the other hand has no idea what is going to happen and even if he did I think he'd be just fine as long as we pack a few cars for him to play with.

With Todd working in Korea this week, it has been more than a little interesting trying to get things settled for Germany. Coordinating with the craziest set of time change has been absolutely nuts. We're still trying to figure out housing and other logistics for while we're there, but our tickets are bought and we'll be on or way in just over a week. Thank goodness Todd got home Friday.  One time difference is enough to worry about, with two there just aren't any overlapping times.

I'm not sure who had more fun...

To be honest I had forgotten how fun legos are to play with. It's been years since Todd and I have played with Legos. For Christmas Hailee got her very own set of girly-pink legos. She has loved playing with them. We have been doing working on a chore chart/rewards system with Hailee. When she does her chores she get to put a certain amount of rocks in her jar. When the jar gets filled up she gets to pick out a special treat. The time came and she got to pick out a treat, she knew exactly what she wanted....a lego set. She had seen it just after Christmas and fell in love. It's a cute winter scene with village shops, horse and cart and an ice skating rink. As soon as we got home Todd and Hailee sat down together to put it together. Todd and Hailee had such a good time playing together.

 

 When we first decided to get Hailee some of the little legos I was a little worried about James. I was imagining him eating legos, sticking them up his nose, and scattering them from here to there. I have been quite surprised that he actually does really well with them and really enjoys playing with them as well. And so far he hasn't stuck any up his nose, as far as I know.

It was such a fun evening together.

Ready to Go

When it's cold outside we insist that James wear his coat and shoes when going out on the patio. One day James was hanging out in his diaper, like he normally is, and he brought me his shoes and coat. He insisted that he put them on. I was a little confused as to why he wanted them on, but as soon as he got them on he went straight to the door and I understood. Before he asked to go outside he made sure he had his shoes and jacket on. It was tough to convince him that he needed his clothes on as well. As far as he was concerned he had his bases covered and was ready to play.

Words by James

It seems every time we go on vacation James starts talking more. It happened over the summer and again at Christmas. He is talking so much now and it is so fun to see what he interested in. Some of our favorites...

• "Cars" and "Bots" - This little guy just loves cars and robots. One evening we were scanning channels when he was still awake and we came across Transformers. (No we didn't let him watch it.) He did watch a few minutes and the whole time he kept saying "cars!" "bots" with the best look on his face. He was in heaven, cars that actually turned into robots. No wonder boys love Transformers so much. Also when we are at the bus stop he has to point out all the 'cars' that pass by.
• "Nope, having fun." - This was one of his first sentences. We were at a furniture store when he found a 'tree house bed.' I let him play for a minute but then it was time to pick Hailee up, I told him it was time to go. He replied "Nope having fun!" and ran away. I was able to get him to go, but he was screaming, 'nope having fun' the whole way out.
• "Sammy" - aka, sandwich. James just loves sandwiches. While Todd was gone to Germany he got an ear infection, for a few days he didn't want to eat very much. One day his appetite came back in full force. He ate like crazy all day. That evening when I was going to bed I heard him stir and say "Sammy." At first I thought he was just talking in his sleep, but he let me know that he really did want a "sammy." He ate a sandwich and immediately went back to sleep. 
• "Cake" - Hailee never really like sweet things, but James sure makes up for it. He loves cake. However the funny thing I discovered after making some mini cupcakes is that he doesn't like the "stump" of the muffin. He just eats the top and leaves the bottom behind.
• "Shake, shake shake" -He also really loves shakes. When he really wants one he goes to the freezer, says "shake, shake, shake," and does a little shake dance. I have the hardest time saying no to such a sweet little dance. 
• "Oh Shoot" - This is one he's been saying for a while but it still makes me laugh. There is just something wrong about "oh shoot" coming out of a little one's mouth after something goes wrong.
• "Nooooo" and "Nope" - Christmas time was the time when he learned how to say "no." Before that he would just shake his head or growl at you. I love the way he says both of these words. It's always long drawn out in the most annoyed voice "nooooooope." Over Christmas he woke up a little grumpy and wanted Todd to hold him. Hailee came up to him and was trying to get his attention. "Are you ready to play with Sissy," she asked. To which he responded "Nooooooooope."
• "Dink" - He loves his sippy cup when he goes to bed at night.
• "So Fun" and "Funny" - When Todd was in Germany I pulled up the little videos we took at the zoo and he announced "so fun." He now will tell us what he thinks is "so fun" or "funny." When he and Hailee are laughing he will say "that's funny." It's pretty cute that he can tell us how he is feeling.  
• "Sorry" and "Excuse Me" - He is quite a polite little boy. He can say 'please' and 'thank you' at all the appropriate times, but now he has added 'sorry' and 'excuse me.' The funniest thing is that he is usually pushing me out of his way as he is say 'sorry' or 'excuse me.'
• "MOM" - Not to be confused with "mama" when he is calling for me."MOM" said in a really loud and annoyed voice, means I'm done with this (ie, drink, sandwich, etc...) and I don't want to hold it anymore. He usually just does it when I'm around, but I have seen him use "MOM" with Hailee and Todd.
• "Word Girl" "Huggy" "Toby" "Bots" - James has decided that the PBS kids show word girl is his absolute favorite. His favorite villain is definitely Toby since he controls his own army of 'bots.' He has quickly stolen all of Hailee's Word Girl books and loves it when we read them to him. They also enjoy watching the show together.
• "Super Why" "Alpha Pig" - His favorite game to play on the computer is Super Why. He loves working with his letters with Alpha Pig. He really loves the letters 'W',  'O'  and 'M.' I can't quite get him to like the letter 'J.' He is getting pretty good with his letters.

He is talking constantly now. It's so fun that he can tell us the things that are going on his world. He can tell us when he is hot or cold, happy or sad, and whether he thinks things are funny or not. I only understand about half of it and whenever I guess what he is saying he raises his arms and says  "YEAH!!!" with the biggest smile on his face. It's really quite cute.

Driving Miss Hailee

What James is lacking in speech, his sister more than makes up for it. She is constantly talking, and if she happened to not be talking she is thinking about what she is going to say next. So as we go from here to there I always get some of the funnest conversations, for instance.

On the way to swimming lessons I was complaining that the sun was in my eyes and my eyes were itchy. She said. "You know the sun dries out your eyes and that is what makes them itchy." "Oh is that how that works." I responded. "Yes, you know like in the song 'The insy, winsy, spider.' The sun came out and dried up all the rain. And when your eyes dry out they get itchy." I also learned that tears block germs because germs don't like water. And that if you look directly into the sun it will cause "harm and damage."

She was also curious about why that store "eleven" had a seven behind it, it should have the number 11. Realizing we were passing 7-eleven I told her the name of the store was actually "Seven-eleven." To which she said, "oh that makes sense, I should have thought of that."

After the seven-eleven incident she started bothering her brother, who was a little cranky and didn't want to be bothered. I told her to stop bothering him to which she said, "I just can't help it he is just so cute, fun, cuddly, adorable.... " on and on she went describing her brother. After some time I told her that was fine, but she still needed to leave him alone. Then she said, "Mom those are all adjectives about my baby brother, really they are. Mrs Fletcher taught me." That may be true, but he was in no mood of being adored at the time.

Sometimes Hailee and James will get each other a little wound up and a little and a little crazy. Tonight I had to tell them several time to settle down. At one point Hailee had James laughing hysterically, but things were quickly getting to that "crazy" point where someone was going to get hurt. I told Hailee she needed to stop, to which she said, "but he's laughing his head off, you know mom, that is just an expression. He's not really laughing his head 'off.'"

The other day we were driving around and she asked me what kind of a baby our next one would be (we are not expecting). I told her that it could be either a girl or a boy. She told me that she would be happy if it was a girl, then quickly said that James would be happy if it was a boy. She was in quite a quandary about this new situation. She quickly decided that I just needed to have twins, one boy and one girl, then EVERYONE will be happy. I laughed and told her that she better start praying, because twins don't run in the family. She thought for a minute and then said "Mom what is it called where there are five babies born at one time."  Yikes! I hope she doesn't start praying for quintuplets.