Oh, my little Moo!

My little MooMoo (aka Andi) just makes me laugh every day. Her little personality is coming through so much. This last week she learned how to give kisses. They are open mouth, slobbery, yummy kisses. I love it when she leans in for one.

She is also doing a great job standing. She can't pull herself up to standing yet, but she will hang out for a while once you put her on her feet.

Andi is crawling all over the place and getting into everything. She loves watermelon- she's the only one who can compete with my consumption of it, plus my mom.

This morning we were all just playing in the living room and Andi is a talker. She crawled behind our couch where we have a bunch of toys and got really quiet. I finally went back to check on her and she had found Carter's sucker and was going to town on it. If you look close you will see purple drool all down the front of her.

Andi finally has two teeth that have poked through on the bottom! And only a month shy of her first birthday. We have late bloomers in my family.

And finally, Andi is growing a little bit of hair! This is Andi's new pretty, and I love it. It's a little crystal flower on this spiral piece of metal that you just twist into her hair. It stays in really well and stays in with just the littlest bit of fine hair. She looks so cute with it in, on the rare occasion that she will sit still long enough for me to get it in.

Happy Memorial Day

We headed up to Spokane to visit some family- mostly because we are going to miss Jefferson's little sister, Ali's high school graduation. Jefferson's sister Ashlee and her husband and kids live there too, and Jefferson's mom was in town. Carter and Andi had a blast playing with their cousins and we had a great time too:

Andi, Bostyn, & Bailey in their matching shirts: Us ladies hanging out: (ashlee, ali, me)

People say these two could be brothers:
Andi, need I say more?:
The grandkids waiting for Grandma Mitchy to come up the driveway:

Hot tubbing:

Jefferson gave the kids rides in the tractor:

Andi loves hiking:

Caterpillar watching:

The fam:

Grandma Mitchy with her grandkids:

The Clan:

Thanks for taking care of us Corrigan/Harmon/Mitchell household! :) We had a great time!

Mommy moment: Happy sibs

Carter loves it when Andi follows him around the house, so we constantly hear him say, "Andi, come heres." Likewise, she loves following him around to wherever he is playing. As I was making dinner tonight I kept hearing Carter bug Andi to "come heres" into his room where he was playing. I guess she finally conceded because the next thing I hear is the two of them laughing, hysterically. I went to peak in on them and Carter was just running back and forth across his room, running into the chair and then into his bed, and Andi was just sitting there laughing at him as he laughed at himself. As my mom would say, it warmed the cockles of my heart.

Weekend fun

This weekend was great. We had beautiful weather and were able to get out and enjoy some sun. Saturday morning we did a temple swap with our friends Brad and Maylin. They watched our kids in the morning, and we watched theirs in the afternoon so we could both do a session at the temple. It was so great going and being in the temple with Jefferson. Thanks Falkes!

Sunday morning, about an hour before we went to church, Carter locked himself in one of our bedrooms. This door happens to be our only door that requires a key to unlock. He was in there for about fifteen minutes, screaming and knocking and crying for "mama and daddy" while we tried to jimmy rig it open. We couldn't get the door handle off, Jefferson couldn't pick the lock, nothing was working. Finally I asked Jefferson if I could have a try at it and I opened it with a credit card on the first try! Isn't that amazing?! Who knew that actually worked? I was pretty impressed with myself. It was heartbreaking to hear Carter in there.

After church we laid a blanket out in the yard and Jefferson and Carter played with their squirt guns and I decided to paint my toenails. Andi was just sitting next to me so I decided we should have our first mommy-daughter pedicure, matching polish and all. You have to admit her little toes look pretty cute in pink!

On Saturday we went and walked around Target to get out of the heat for a bit. Any of you who are into emergency preparedness should check out the dollar spot. They had solar blankets, water proof matches, rope, flashlights, all for a buck! Great additions to any 72 hour kit.

ABC's

Thank you baby sis for the tag! Enjoy the read. :)

A- Attached or Single? Attached for almost 5 years!
B- Best Friend: My hubby Jefferson
C-Cake or Pie: Pie - Most days, white cake, but I love pumpkin pie like crazy!
D-Day: Friday because Jefferson only has a half day of school, but I also love Sundays because it's the only day that Jefferson doesn't study,
E- Essential Item: wipes- either for wiping baby bottoms, wiping down dirty little grimy fingers, or wiping down nasty shopping cart handles. I use a lot of those suckers each day.
F- Favorite Color: Pink and brown
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: I like them both
H-Home town: Klamath Falls, Oregon
I- Indulgences: Reading. I have this ability to get totally and completely wrapped up in a book. Both of my kids could be screaming, the phone ringing, and the house on fire and I might not notice. I also love anything with peanut butter in it.
J- January or July?: July. I love bbq's and trips to Blue Lake Park with my friends.
K-Kids: The two most beautiful, wonderful kids ever: Carter 2 and Andi 10 1/2 months
L-Life is incomplete without: My family
M- Marriage Date: July 1, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 2 brothers and 2 sisters- they are awesome!
O- Oranges or Apples: Watermelon
P- Phobias or Fears: I am seriously scared of the dark and I have a major phobia of moths.
Q- Quote: "In all living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." -Gordon B Hinckley
R- Reason To Smile: Andi's chubby little face frowning at me, Carter's endless reserve of energy, the smell of my kids room when I go in to get them in the morning, their smell after a bath, when I catch my hubby staring at me, a happy, healthy family that is mine forever.
S- Season: Oh geez, all of them. Spring is my least favorite, but I love the smell after rain and the buds on the trees. Portland is cold, but beautiful in the spring. I love the warm and sun of summer and sitting by the pool and bbq's. I love the colors of fall and the crunch of leaves under my shoes. I love Christmas and snowmen in the winter.
T- Tag Three: Nah.
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I am frugal to a fault. I look at the price per ounce for almost everything I buy.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I am a steak and potatoes kind of girl.
W- Worst Habit: Talking too fast. I guess it can be kind of hard to understand me sometimes.
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasound. Seeing your own little baby on one is magical.
Y-Your favorite foods: Peanut butter, watermelon, corn on the cob
Z: Zodiac Sign: Scorpio- watch out!

record high=record happy

As the title says, we had record high temps here in Portland today. It was wonderful! We headed up to Vancouver to play with our friends Hayley and Logan. We went to this awesome park that had this little waterfall and playplace. The kids loved it and we managed to stay cool.

This is what Andi did while we were gone...

Can you believe that Andi learned how to crawl while we were gone? That was my parents payment for staying with them. She acts like she has been doing this for a month, just crawling all over the place. What a stinker!

AZ

We just got home from a spectacular trip to Arizona. It felt great to finally see some sun and warm weather. It would be a lie to say that it wasn't kind of nice to be away from our kids for a couple of days too. Not that I didn't miss them like crazy, but being away made me appreciate them a little more, and I feel like I am ready to take on being a mom again.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Jensen for housing us. They are such good hosts, fixing us breakfast, taking us out to lunch, playing at the pool with us- it was truly relaxing. We were able to meet up with my aunt and uncle and some of my cousins and their families too. It was wonderful to see everyone and how much all of their kids have grown. We had a great time catching up with everyone.

We also got to see our friends the Robinsons while we were down there. Here is me and Michelle:

The real reason for our visit down was that one of Jefferson's best friends got married. Congratulations Rick and Julie! They make such a cute couple. I have never seen Rick happier. Can you tell which couple lives in Oregon and which lives in Arizona? We need some sun!

Here are some photos from the wedding. They got married in the Mesa temple. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time meeting up with all of our Idaho friends for the occasion.
In front of the Mesa temple:

The groomsmen:Where the party was really at:

Two good lookin' guys:Us at the reception:

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Alli for watching our kids while we were away. Thank you AZ family for taking care of us while we were down there. We hope to make it down again in the not too distant future.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all you moms and future moms! I must admit though, that I have the best mom out there. She is so amazing. Anyone who has met her knows that she is the coolest mom. When I was in high school everyone wanted to hang out at our house, not necessarily to hang out with me, but my parents. She is definitely very hip and stylish. My mom is so great at supporting us kids in our lives. She makes sure to visit everyone and is so involved in her grandkids' lives. She, with my sister and Dad, just came and watched my kids for the last four days. My kids were so happy to have her here with them. Not only were my kids alive and thriving when we got home, but the house was clean, there was dinner waiting for us, clean sheets on the bed, and fresh flowers on the table. Mom- you've still got it! Thanks for everything you do for me and my family. I love you!

Congrats Ben!

I just have to give a shout out to my brother Ben. He just graduated from Willamette University law school with honors today. Congratulations! We are so proud of you!

This is what I'm leaving....

Jefferson and I are going out of town on Wednesday. We are headed down to Arizona for our good friend Rick's wedding. We are leaving our kids behind with my parents and sister Alli. It will be the first time we have ever left them over night, and we are leaving them for four nights! It is going to be so weird. You can see the funny little personalities that we are leaving behind and can imagine how hard it's going to be. This is Carter being a little thug, and Andi's new found trick of scowling. I am going to miss these little people!

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails....

We went for a walk today out to some ponds not far from our house. Carter is all boy it amazes me sometimes. Where do they learn it? It must be innate. He kept picking up handfuls of rocks and throwing them. He became fast obsessed with the sound the rocks made while plunking into the water. Along the way we found an orange and black caterpillar crawling across the trail. That grabbed Carter's attention longer than anything has in a long time. We fed the geese and ducks bread at the pond. That boy has an arm on him! We stopped to pet every dog that we passed and Carter pointed out every bird that flew over head. People always tell you that having a baby will make you appreciate the world around you like you never have before. That doesn't really hold true with a little baby. Andi just sat in the stroller staring into the abyss. However, a toddler really does make one appreciate every chirping bird, cat and caterpillar that crosses our path. Thank you Carter for helping us stop and watch the caterpillars. We love all the little boyness about you!