things that my 2 yr old says that crack me up..

Some things that Wyatt has been recently saying that make me chuckle...

That's coooool! (sounds like tool)

Sure! (when he's being agreeable)

That's great! (sounds just like me)

Oooooh, that's lovely! (not sure where he's heard this)

OK mom!

Mommy where isss you?

Mommy, I hold you! (when he wants me to hold him)

Mommy, I NEEEEED you! (when he's in a clingy mood)- He always laughs when I say it back though.

I NEEEED that! or I neeeed a treat! I need more presents (as heard the day after Xmas (in a most dramatic tone). Its always things like candy etc that he doesn't really need. I just laugh and say "oh really-why? hmmm"

I'm making some coffee.

And so on and so on...

"Oh Christmas tree...."

Today we got our Christmas tree- finally! Last weekend we were busy on the Polar Express, then Will got sick what we thought was strep throat (luckily it was just a bad throat infection) and then Wyatt got sick with some funky stomach bug, so getting the tree has been delayed all week.

So I didn't take my camera with me, but we went to a "U-cut" place near our new house where we took a tractor ride out to the trees and Will got to saw down the Noble Fir we decided on. It was pretty muddy but being the smart Oregonians that we've become- we wore our mud boots and rain jackets. It was pretty cool and a bit rainy but once we got back to the main area we were able to get warmed up; ate some cookies, drank some hot chocolate, saw Santa and an electric train track. It was a nice end to the whole Oregon 'tree' farm experience.

This afternoon Will worked on the exterior lights some more and I began unpacking Xmas decorations. When Wyatt woke up from his nap, we ate BLT's for dinner and decided to make a trip to Home Depot and Kmart on the hunt for blue LED Xmas tree lights (Wyatt really wanted a blue tree). Unfortunately we couldn't find any, but we did find some frozen yogurt on the way home :) Once we got home we got working on getting the tree decorated. Although Wyatt enjoyed putting a few ornaments on the tree, he got more joy stealing them and stashing them in his own hiding place. When I asked him if I could see them he first said "no mommy." Then when I asked "pleeeeeease?" he said "ok, but don't touch, mommy.' Apparently he had some idea I might be taking them back. I promised I wouldn't touch them and he opened the box (briefly) for me to see. We've noticed lately that he is really saying funny little sayings like "its been a long day today" etc. He's a character this one and has us cracking up quite often.

So here is a picture of the finished product- unfortunately its not blue :(

Here are some pictures of when Wyatt met Santa earlier this week at Story book land. As you can see, he wasn't interested in getting on Santa's lap. He did make sure and tell Santa "I want a truck," however.





HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!!!

Da' Hood- River that is..

We made the drive to Hood River, Oregon (located about an hour east of Portland along the Columbia River) on Saturday a.m. after dropping off the dogs at my parent's house. We were able to get an early check in and were really pleased with our room at the Best Western Hood River. It was a larger than usual room, had a fireplace and awesome view of the river (and Washington state). We met up with everyone (both friends and family) for a couple hours before dinner and then went and ate pizza at Pietro's pizza which was just a block away from the rail road where we rode the Polar Express. The kids all looked adorable in their PJ's and were sooooo excited. After finding our seats, we began our journey. The kids were all bouncing off the walls but were able to run around the train car pretty freely. Shortly after we began, hot chocolate and cookies were served. Train staff then read the book "The Polar Express" to the kids and when the train reached the "North Pole," we got to see 'Santa's house,' and a bunch of Xmas lights. Santa then got on board the train and greeted each of the kids with a bell. It was a really fun experience for all of us. I have a feeling that we will be watching our Polar Express movie and reading our book, every December now.






This morning we got up and had a good breakfast at the hotel. We decided to go check out Mt. Hood and the Timberline Lodge where some of the movie "The Shining" was filmed. It was rather snowy at times, but Will got to use his 4X4, so he was happy. The hotel was amazing and apparently built in the 1930's by hand. We had lunch in the old bar and then took a tour of the historic Lodge with an older gentleman from the Forest Services. We learned a lot of history and Wyatt did wonderfully (even though it was beyond nap time). Turns out our tour guide was also a retired Obstetrician who figured out that I was preggo (and not just fat). It made my day :) haha

Wyatt fell asleep pretty quickly as we left and we made the drive home safe and sound. Tomorrow I'm planning on taking Wyatt to Elf village in Jefferson, OR. Wednesday we have a field trip to Story book land with the MOM's Club, our last class is on Thursday and we have a Christmas party on Friday. Busy, fun week ahead!

Polar Express

This weekend we're going to Hood River to see the Polar Express along with a bunch of friends and family. We're all staying at the Best Western along the river and planning to go to Portland for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and to experience the Grotto on our way home tomorrow night.

So last night we put on "The Polar Express" movie for Wyatt to watch before we go and low and behold he watched the ENTIRE movie! He kept saying "uh oh uh oh uh oh" when there was action happening but he was transfixed. Anyways gotta run and get ready to hit the road!

Will post pictures when we return! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

All good things

We are sooo happy that we not only have a new family member- our little nephew, Mason, born on Monday, but we're also settled in our house after moving this weekend. So yea, it was a crazy last few days, but everything has turned out wonderfully.

We LOVE our house and are soooo enjoying the little projects to make it our own. I have window coverings up in a couple of the bedrooms and most of the kitchen and Wyatt's room unpacked. Will did a bunch of wiring for internet yesterday and put in fancy-smancy fan switches in the bathrooms. Our only problem area is our back yard which is still under 'construction' (for lack of a better word). It's a big mud hole- but a level mud hole and is almost complete. We are trying to figure out how to deal with it and the two dogs for the duration of the winter. Luckily there is a playground in our subdivision just down the street for Wyatt and I to walk to. Right now the dogs are spending most of their time in the garage with potty walks every few hours. My mom is coming by in just a little bit and we're making a trip to Costco (for some new dog beds etc.)- to allow the dogs to hang out inside with us a bit.

Tomorrow Wyatt and I are driving to Eugene to explore the Children's science museum for a field trip with my class. On our way home, we're going to visit with Audra and baby as they are being discharged today. I'll be taking lots of pictures!

Here is a picture for those of you who didn't see it on Facebook of Wyatt and his friend Bailey playing dress up yesterday.

Exciting times in Oregon

We've had a busy few weeks. Most interestingly is that we found out we're having another BOY! :) This will make life so much easier but of course it would have been fun to do the girl/pink stuff too. Who knows, maybe a 3rd will be in order ;)Oh and most importantly- all tests and ultrasounds show he's perfectly healthy and growing on target. Now.. what to name the little guy?

So as I've probably mentioned a few times now, we're buying a house. Yup, the people who have refused to buy into this crappy housing market have decided they're done renting and are ready to take the plunge. We're hoping escrow closes by Friday the 12th so we can move in that weekend. So far everything looks like its flowing well- our inspection happened yesterday and appraisal is supposed to happen Friday. Once that is done, the final paperwork can be completed. Easy as pie right? Well we will see :)

So my dear sister is STILL pregnant! Yeah!! -I don't think she expected to be pregnant this long after her last preemie birth, and I would bet she's probably feeling pretty done with the whole thing about now- but we're thrilled he's baked this long. She is due to delivery mid November and we are all very excited to meet little Mason.

So aside from trying to get a couple boxes packed everyday, doing lots of organizing and throwing out, not too much else is going on..

Hopefully my next post will have us all successfully moved and a new healthy nephew born :) Wish us all luck!

Our funny boy

Today after gymnastics we were driving home. As we drove by a police car pulled over on the side of the road ticketing someone Wyatt says "a police car!" I said "Yep, the police man is giving someone a ticket." Then Wyatt says "can I touch him?" (he's into asking to touch everything lately). So I say "No we can't touch police men." Then he says "will he bite me?" I guess he's been told not to touch things like spiders, snakes, dogs. etc 'because they might bite him.' I got a good laugh.

So tonight I was changing Wyatt's diaper and he was resisting putting his new one on a bit so I suggested he go "pee pee on the potty." I'd kinda given up on potty training for the last couple months after getting nowhere. So surprisingly he said "okay" and we ran into the bathroom. He asked for a "surprise" and I said "okay." Then he said he want's "TWO surprises." So I told him he had to go pee pee on the potty and he'd get two surprises. I sent Will off to get some chocolate chips and guess who started working very hard to make it happen? Yup Wyatt pee'd on the potty tonight! I was so excited I cried- I guess I'm hormonal. Anyways it was obvious he was proud of himself too (not to mention how happy he was to grub down on the chocolate chips (daddy brought way more than the two I planned on giving him- I guess daddy was proud too haha).

Anyways things are progressing well on our house. I think escrow began today and we got a great 4% interest rate. I started thinking about paint colors, window coverings etc. and because I love the house in Modern Family, I'm thinking of using this blue called "Labrador blue" for our living room. Check out this blog.

Next week we find out the sex of the baby. We are soooo excited but plan to keep the results in an envelope (that even we wont see) until that night when we go out to dinner with the family. What is your guess??

We're moving (again!)

Yup, we have been renting for long enough now and have grown tired of making our yearly move (especially with me being pregnant now). Our other option was to move a month after the baby is born, but that sounds even worse than now. Anyways we have spent a couple weeks house hunting (driving by over 30 ish houses) and looking at about 5. We did put an offer on one house last week but they seller wouldn't come down in his price and we just didn't feel comfortable paying his price (not to mention the pricey property taxes here, which can amount to almost 4% on many houses!)So anyways we ended up finding a new subdivision on the edge of town which still feels pretty rural, that we liked. Anyways their brand new houses and have CCR's (which we NEVER thought we'd be ok with), but alas we've decided to look past them and made an offer on the (already built) house just yesterday. Its a 2 story house on the very end of the street and will never have neighbors behind it because it sits on the wetlands and has a nice view. So anyways, I better get moving and get breakfast ready.

Oh just as a side note: Wyatt has been watching Super Why religiously, but low and behold, the kid knows all of his letters. So I can't feel too guilty ;) Also, we go in to get our anatomy ultrasound in less than two weeks so are getting excited for that. I feel the baby move a lot these days which is cool. I don't remember Wyatt moving this much.. boy are we in trouble? haha

Our fall thus far...

So it's been a very busy last couple of weeks. We're very happy to be back home but we had a very nice trip to California- we did lots of visiting with Wyatt's Auntie Autumn, cousin Faye and Grandmaman as well as some good shopping in San Jose; a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a trip to the Santa Cruz boardwalk with Poppy and Amma Krissen, a fun ride through the Santa Cruz mountains on the Roaring Camp steam train and lots of stuffing our faces.

The third leg of our trip was spent in the Fresno area. We scored in the weather department, I must say. We stayed the first couple nights at my parent's house in Tollhouse and then at our friends, Kathleen and Manuel's house. I got to spend lots of time with my grandma and cousins as well as good friends. On Sunday a.m., we went to Nataska's beautiful wedding at the Japanese Gardens in Fresno and ate great food at the Spaghetti factory. Best of all, Wyatt stayed with Jena, Grandma E. and Bri and while he had a fabulous time- so did we (childless for a few hours- haha)

Unfortunately I got sick while at my parent's house. I thought it must be some funky morning sickness even though I was already 13 weeks along. But it lasted all day and then wiped me out for a couple more days so who knows. Come to find out there seems to be some viral thing going around in OR and CA. Anyhoo we made it home safely on Monday. It took exactly 12 hours and that included LOTS of stops- Wyatt had a couple major meltdowns but at least took a hour long nap this time. Yeah long road trips with kids are mentally exhausting for everyone (even with the dvd player and lots of snacks and games). Thanks to my Aunt Renee for getting Will a birthday cake for the road. That was a treat to eat while stopping for a meltdown :)

Once we got home, we spent a couple days recuperating and doing laundry. On Thursday we went to the apple orchard and picked various kinds of apples. I got about 14lbs of apples for $3.60! What a bargain :) This weekend we plan to try our hand at some canning.

Oh yeah, Wyatt came down with a fever yesterday a.m. He was going to go play with his friend Bailey while I went to a work inservice but instead, Will took the day off work and stayed with him. What timing :( Anyways so far today, his temp is more normal and he seems to be on the mend. Yeahhhh. Sick kids stress me out.

Oh and its already raining here. Its been in the 70's and rained every day since we got home I think. Winter is coming early this year!

Baby #2 is on his/her way...

So today I went to the OB and got to hear our baby's healthy heart beat. I am 12 weeks pregnant! I'm due March 18th so it should be an interesting winter. I'm hoping we can all stay relatively healthy and just bunker down and enjoy not having to go out in the cold and rain too much (one of the joys of being a SAHM). Other than teaching my class on Thursdays this fall, I think we're only going to sign up for gymnastics (oh and of course our weekly Monday play date is a must!). If we get bored, there is always and abundance of story times at the local libraries.

I've felt good for the most part, other than extreme fatigue and random bouts of nausea. I've been taking daily naps when Wyatt naps so not a lot gets done around the house these days. I've also had terrible fast food cravings and no desire to go to the gym. I'm hoping now that I'm 12 weeks along, I'll get some energy back and can start working out more than the current 1x a week speed walk with friends that I've been doing this last month.

So tomorrow we head to California... First stop is in San Jose to visit Will's mom and Rene and then to Santa Cruz to visit his dad and Krissen. Then we are off to Fresno for my friend Nataska's wedding and to see more family and friends. We're planning on staying at my parent's house for a couple nights (hoping to NOT see any rattle snakes) and then with my friend Kathleen and fam. We are booked solid with visits so we should be very busy. Yeah!!! Other than the drive down, I'm getting excited. So on that note, I better go get finished packing and head to bed!