Parks and Picnics

Our weekend (Friday & Saturday, at least) consisted of the following...

Pool

Park

Picnic

Photos(as in, I took family photos for my sister's family -- click here to see the sneak peek)

Beach/Park

Picnic

Naps for tired babies

(and a little cat nap for tired Uncle Taylor :)

Planting seeds in the garden for not as tired toddlers

Bike Riding

Chatting away for two sisters

Papusas

more Park

etc.

We spent the whole day today with my sister, Kaitlin, and her very cute family, who came up to visit from Tacoma. We did pictures and then just relaxed and played the rest of the day, it was fabulous!

Here are just a few pics from Gasworks Park, where the kids got some practice in with the frisbee

(we kicked the soccer ball around too, for good measure)

We ended our fun day with throwing rocks in Lake Union and then celebrating little Alexandra's first birthday with some Cold Stone Creamery-goodness. I just love days like this!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend, too.

Momma's Takin' Us To The Zoo...

We have a membership at the Woodland Park Zoo and we love to go. There are weeks in which we sometimes go at least twice, in fact! But for various reasons, we haven't been for a few weeks, so we were excited to be going today.

Almost every time we are in the car trekking the 3 miles up the street to get there...I can't help but sing a bit of Peter, Paul, and Mary because it makes me happy and gets the kids clapping and singing and excited to go.

Today, we were extra excited because Aunt Kaitlin, Alyssa, and baby Xannie came up and went to the zoo with us!

The weather was absolutely perfect...and we all had a blast!

It was cute to see Sawyer and Alyssa walk around the zoo holding hands and laughing at each other and having a great time.

We saw a lot of animals, but the only one I got a picture of was the peacock. He spread is feathers and shook them at us - quite a sight to see!

We also made a stop at Zoomazium just in time for "Shake, Rattle, and Roar" where they play fun music to move and groove to and provide shaking music makers for everyone to use. Sawyer and Alyssa decided they not only wanted to shake and dance - but they wanted to add some percussion as well!

They had fun pretending to "feed" the baby elephant (with dirt, nonetheless). Alyssa was so cute. When I asked her what animal she wanted to see the most (I may as well be a tour guide at the zoo by now, I have it down pat :) she said "the komodo dragon". And so we did! Personally, I thought the nearby Meerkats were much more cute than the big lizards, but who am I to judge? The kids quite enjoyed those big lizards!

And the cute baby sisters.

Aspen just wants to be a big girl now. She wants to walk and run everywhere. She says "ha" (hand) and holds out her little hand to grab yours and pull you along wherever she wants to go. She also loves to shake her head "yes" or "no" and has taken to saying "yeah!" as she shakes her head yes (as in "Aspen, would you like to share an ice-cream cone with Mommy and Sawyer?" --- shaking her head up and down in the cutest way imaginable "Yeah!"). She is saying quite a few words now and it's so fun!

And as a side note, she had her 15 month check up this week and is a whopping 19 lbs! (10th% for weight, and 25% for height). She is quite petite. But she sure has a big grin!

Thanks to my sister and her two cute girls for spending the day with us as the zoo.

We really did stay all day!

Easter

I hope everyone had a great Easter! We sure did! I'm sort of late in posting about it because we were so busy having a good time - especially since my twin sister, Tia, was here visiting to make it that much more memorable.

We went to Greenlake Park for an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Sawyer was a little confused as to what was going on, but when he saw all the kids start running around and grabbing things off the ground - he got the idea quickly. Later, when we let him taste one of the mini-chocolate eggs that he had collected, he got even more excited. It was pretty cold out, so after the hunt we walked over to Starbucks and warmed up with some hot drinks. It was relaxing after the hoopla of the hunt!

Of course, we colored and dyed some eggs as well. Jacob's eggs are always fun - this year there was even one with an eyeball. Just a single eyeball staring at us. I told him it was weird. (It was!) But it was still fun. Sawyer really had a good time coloring, drawing, putting stickers on, and dying his two eggs before bedtime. The Easter Bunny even paid us a little visit. We got lots of fresh strawberries and some Godiva Chocolates. Pretty awesome combination, don'tcha think?

It was Aspen's First Easter. She's now 9 weeks old! Next week, she will receive her special baby blessing at church. We went to our church building Sunday morning to listen to the General Conference Addresses that are given by church leaders twice a year to our world-wide congregation. The messages at church were wonderfully uplifting and enlightening. It was a wonderful Easter Sunday.

I dressed Aspen in her Easter Dress and the little headband she found in her Easter Basket (yes, I'm still slightly obsessed with making headbands!) I will have to say that the white was beautiful - until literally 30 seconds after I set her down to photograph her in her dress and she had her first MAJOR blow-out! Poor thing, I made her sit there another minute while I took her picture and then finally changed her diaper.

Later, at home, we hung out and prepared our Easter Feast. We were super happy to have the company of Tia this Easter weekend. We even got her for an extra day because she missed her flight back to Boston! Sawyer LOVED playing with Aunt Tia. And Aspen gave her tons of smiles. I've started calling Aspen "Happy" because she is just such a happy, smiley baby.

Aunt Tia brought the kiddies some treats. "Make Way for Ducklings" is quickly becoming a favorite bedtime story. And Tia hand-picked this awesome Jimi Hendrix onesie for Aspen. I didn't get them in the photo, but she has on RAINBOW baby legs. The furry kind. So rock n' roll, ya know? Kinda '70s too. Kinda Rainbow Bright-ish, too.

Ohhhh. We love you Aunt Tia. We can't thank you enough for coming to spend the past several days with us. We wish you would've missed your flight again and that they couldn't rebook you for another week or so. But we know you have to get back to work. Come visit us any time!

Mama & Her Boy

So...I admit it...I am a camera hog. The benefit of being a camera hog came today when Jacob said "you know, we should really get another camera..." which led to a conversation in which we have made a goal to save up to get me my dream camera, hopefully sometime this year! It also led to this picture. I had been hogging the camera all morning and I said to Jacob "take it - it's your turn." So this is the result: a picture of me and my boy. Thanks, babe. I love it! He's growing so fast! Check out his crazy hair! I am not very good with the clippers and the only thing I really know how to do is buzz it off. Since the weather is getting a little more chilly, I decided to let it get a little longer...but all I can think of is to make it messy so no one will notice my awful hair-cutting ability! If anyone has tips on doing little boy hair, please share! Otherwise, Sawyer will either end up with long surfer-dude hair or super short buzz cuts all the time.

We had a wonderful day today. We went to the Ballard Locks this morning to look at the boats and fish swim by. We even saw a seal! I spent some time hogging the camera and forcing Jacob and Sawyer yet again to be my subjects as we did a mini photo session of Sawyer in his Halloween costume...I'm excited about his costume this year because I broke out the sewing machine and put some of my own sweat into it! And tonight, we headed to the Zoo's Pumpkin Prowl with some awesome new friends who are new in town. We spent a lot of time waiting in lines...but the kiddos had fun, and we got to chat and be out having a good time with great people which always makes for a fun evening. Oh, how I wish there were a couple more Saturdays in the weekend! I just love being able to spend time together! I hope everyone else had an enjoyable weekend as well!

A Visit with Auntie Tia Part II.

We took Aunt Tia on a hike over the weekend. The weather was PERFECT!

Sawyer loves hiking. While en route, he loves to look up at the trees and usually takes a snooze.

It always feels good enjoying time together with family and in nature. We love it and try to get out as often as we can.

Tia confessed she got nostalgic for the Great Northwest, as it is hard to get out into the beauty of nature while living in Boston without a car. She had a splendid time on our hike.

Once out of the Ergo and at our destination (Fragrance Lake, near Bellingham), Sawyer was all bug-eyed looking at everything around him.

He even dipped his toes in the water. How refreshing!

Jacob got this cool shot of the sun shining through a bug-eaten leaf.

The great view we saw of the San Juan Islands from the lookout point, about half-way up to the lake.

We also enjoyed a wonderful Vegetarian Thai dinner with Auntie Tia. Sawyer, as always, got the celebrity treatment from those around us. (I find it fascinating how many people stop us just to tell us how cute our son is...as if we don't already know! :)

Auntie Tia and Tysha got a treat - a girls' night out - while Daddy and Sawyer had some wild and crazy "boy time" at home one evening. We saw the broadway-based movie-musical "Mama Mia" and it was such a blast! We highly recommend it if you haven't already seen it - especially if you are a long-time ABBA fan, like ourselves.

We met up with our dear old friend from high school, Dena, and two of her beautiful children. At the mall. It was so great to catch up with her. We had a great visit! We met at the Rainforest Cafe, which is quite the dining experience. If you're about to be four, like little Jessica, it's probably a little bit like heaven.

Sawyer spent the better part of two days roaming the floors of the mall with Auntie Tia (who loves to shop when she has the chance). She even treated him to a super cute button-down striped shirt and some swim shorts that will be perfect for next summer, not to mention a little beanie that says "BOO!" in anticipation of her favorite holiday, Halloween. Thanks, Auntie Tia!

Tia and Jessica bonded at the play place. They are both princesses :)

We took Tia to the airport this morning after a nice brunch at the Sunflower Cafe. Ahh. Auntie Tia. We had so much fun with you. We will miss you mucho! How the time flies by when you're having fun! We hope you had a fun 10 days with us!

Bye-bye for now. Maybe we'll get to come to Boston and cheer for you when you graduate with your Masters Degree next fall at Emerson College. Sawyer is so lucky to have an Auntie like you!

A Visit with Auntie Tia Part I.

We took Aunt Tia to the Seattle Center to watch a concert on Saturday night. We saw local artists Palodine and Rocky Votolato. It was a great show and a perfect night.

Our friends, Brady & Solveig, were visiting from Indiana. They met up with us at the show. Sawyer got to meet them for the first time. I think they thought he was a cutie (he is!).

It was record-breaking hot in Seattle that day, so after the show, we walked over to the International Fountain and had some fun in the water. It is nice that we live within walking distance to the Seattle Center. We walked home and had ice-cream to top off a great evening.

We also went swimming on Saturday. It was Sawyer's 2nd time at the Mounger Pool. This time he was so sleepy, he slept even as we dipped him into the pool. So he sat in the shade and we took turns hanging out with him and swimming. It felt so great to cool off in the 90+ weather. (I know it doesn't sound that hot, but mixed with the humidity and the fact that no one in the city has air conditioning...it was hot!)

Sawyer hanging out and napping poolside - check out his little thunder thighs!

Auntie Tia hanging out with Sawyer so we could take a little dip in the pool. (Thanks Auntie Tia!)

Sunday we had a nice BBQ dinner, and our friend Ryan came over, too. We ate and played games and then he and Auntie Tia went to hear the "Monks" of St. Marks sing that night. Monday, we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. We met up with Tysha's friend, Gretchen, and her little boy, Michael. It started raining and hasn't stopped much since. But we haven't let that stop us from having fun! So much for our 90+ weather!

Tysha, Tia, and Sawyer at the Carousel. Auntie Tia took him for his first ride.

Tuesday we went walking around Greenlake - in the pouring rain. It felt more like we were swimming, actually.

We saw this cool bird in the water. We think it's a crane.

After getting drenched and a good 3 mile walk around the lake later...Auntie Tia treated us to MooBerry. (Seattle's equivalent to the popular PinkBerry in CA and NY).

We also did lots of dancing around the living room yesterday. Dad will help us post video later. Sawyer loves to smile at his Auntie Tia. He thinks she is pretty neat-o. She also appreciates what a good baby he is. He only cries when he truly has a reason and the rest of the time, he's just a happy little guy who smiles and kicks his legs with energy and joy. We'll fill you in on the rest of our fun with Aunt Tia in a few days.

Family time in Oregon

This past week we took Sawyer on his first road trip to Bend, Oregon, which is where Tysha's parents live. It is normally a 5.5-6 hour drive, and with our little guy we had envisioned it taking us at least 8 hours - BUT much to our pleasant surprise (actually, we're not too surprised, he's a newborn AND he's super easy-going) we only had to stop once (to feed him and ourselves) and we made it in 6.5 hours. Crying: 10 minutes. Playing with parents: 20 minutes. Sleeping: 5.5 hours. It was a breeze, and we were very thankful. We met up with 3 of Tysha's siblings in Bend, each of whom have had a baby boy in the past year. Sawyer met all of his boy cousins (on the Kemp side) on this trip! Jackson is 10.5 months, David is 8 months, Tyson is 5 months, and of course Sawyer is the youngest - now 1 month old!

We took Sawyer to his first live concert. It was a Reggae band playing at Bend's Munch n Music series. It was an absolutely perfect evening when we packed our picnic and sat on the grass at Drake Park enjoying the music. Brandon - Jamie's boyfriend (Tysha's 18 y/o sis) joined us and even offered to "babysit" so we could dance a little. What a super guy he is! So...we danced a little...and grooved a little (nothing like dancing in bare feet!)...

Sawyer eventually joined in with the dancing. I think he was the youngest in the crowd. Of course, much like the 4th of July Fireworks, he pretty much snoozed through the Reggae Concert, but we enjoyed it nonetheless!!!

Magical Drake Park at dusk. It's one of Tysha's very favorite parts of Bend. It's a park that lines the Deschutes River, and there is always something going on there.

One day the whole crew went on a hike along the Deschutes River. Here's baby Jackson with his Daddy, Jared. They are all smiles! It was an absolutely beautiful day.

And baby David with his Mommy, Jen. Our boys are such troopers! We put Sawyer in our Ergo and he quite enjoyed the hike as well. We are excited for when he is big enough to fit in the big boy backpack and we can go on longer adventures.

It is fun being part of a family that is so active and enjoys the outdoors. We hope to continue the tradition...

Jacob found this fun thing. It's not a dandelion but we're not sure what it is. It looks like a huge dandelion.

Oh, what fun times with our cute little nephews!

Nothing can beat those curious & trusting, happy eyes and big smiles.

Sawyer quite enjoyed being passed around by the family. Here he is with Grammy, enjoying the shade on a hot afternoon. (Notice his receding hairline - at the rate he is going, he may end up bald like his cousin Jackson!)

And here he is with his "Gigi" (Great-Grandmother), Iris. She sure enjoyed meeting her little "tiny mite". We are sad that her husband, Grandpa Millard, didn't get to meet Sawyer. He passed away 2 days after Sawyer was born. We did get to go and visit his grave, as we were unable to be at the funeral. It was sad and sweet. We know he is resting peacefully, and looking out for us. Who knows, maybe he's the one who got Sawyer to smile at 2 days old! Remembering a great life helps remind us to treasure each moment we have with our little son, and with our wonderful families and friends.

Here we are all together. Jared, Rachel, & Jackson. Jen & David. Jamie. David, Kelli, & Tyson. And of course us. Four boy cousins. It will be fun to watch them as they grow! We had a wonderful time in beautiful Central Oregon. What a treat to spend a few days with family!