Happy Birthday Jeremy!

June is our month for celebrations. Unfortunately for Jeremy, his birthday comes just barely after Father's Day and our anniversary, so usually I am all out of ideas for doing nice things for him. But this year, due to pregnancy sickness, Jeremy did everything for our anniversary/Carolyn's birthday/Father's Day weekend. So today, he gets a home-cooked meal. One that doesn't come from the freezer. One I won't ask him to cook while I go upstairs and lie down. Heck, I'll even throw in his favorite dessert. If he's really lucky, I won't even ask him to do the dishes afterward. Jeremy's willingness to accept this as something out of the ordinary attests to the wonderful man I married. So today, I salute you, Jeremy Horner. You're the best!

Helvetia Half-Marathon

I've had my eye on this half-marathon for awhile now. I saw it last year and wanted to try it once I started running. So starting in February, I began training for it. But I didn't run.

My brother Gordon ran it.


My brother Joseph and his wife, Laura, ran it. They even flew in from Phoenix to do it.

The marathon took place Saturday, on Jeremy's and my sixth wedding anniversary. Jeremy was flying out the next day for work (also Carolyn's second birthday and Father's Day). So we packed in quite a bit of celebration on one day. But those aren't the reasons I didn't run. Nope. Something bigger: we're expecting our second baby to join us sometime in December. We're totally excited about it. I'm excited that I haven't been as sick as I was with Carolyn. It's still been rough (hence the no blogging, no cleaning, and no cooking), but it looks like the puking is mostly over.

Back to the marathon, I think it is out of reach to run it next year because I won't be able to take the newborn to the gym for my workouts. But there is a 10K and I really want to at least do that. So check back in 2009.

Happy Birthday Carolyn!

I'm not quite sure how this

turned into this


but it happened.

Our little baby is two years old. I should probably stop calling her a baby now. For a little snapshot of Carolyn: her favorite color is blue, she loves pizza, she loves to give hugs and kisses to anyone, she wrestles her cousins and then comes home and piles on her bracelets and necklaces, and she can watch Cars twice a day and still love it. She is such a joy to have in our family.

Last of the vacation pictures

Tillamook cheese factory.

On our way to the Cape Meares lighthouse. Supposedly there were birds somewhere on the other end of that telescope.

The birds were Carolyn's favorite part of the trip. We walked a mile two mornings in a row so she could see them swoop off a giant rock. I don't think I have ever seen her so gleeful over anything. And she asked about them whenever we weren't at the beach. She loves to talk about them. "Birds fly. Birds eat. Birds bath."

Cannon Beach

Sand Play

We went to Cannon Beach with some good friends for the weekend. Carolyn was especially thrilled because she got unlimited time with her friend Mason. The first thing we did was go down to the beach.

Backlog

Before my computer crapped out on me, I was at least doing a decent job of staying caught up with the blog, but since then...well, I have a bit of catching up to do.




In May, we drove up to Seattle to spend the day with my grandparents. They were in town helping my aunt with her new baby. While we visited, Carolyn and her cousin Clayton vacuumed the living room for us. Always so helpful. It was a beautiful day (and those have been few and far between this "spring") which made the drive to and from Seattle more enjoyable.

I finally got this quilt in the mail for my friend's baby that was born back in November. Admittedly, it was not done by the time he was born, but it was finished before May! Maybe not by much, but I just love this quilt. I did the whole thing all by myself (except for a few phone calls to Rachel--thanks for the advice). That's a big deal. Jeremy is glad his sewing machine gift is getting use. Now he just requests I make something for our family. Next project: toddler bed quilt for Carolyn.

I'm not one hundred percent certain of what Carolyn was doing here or how she managed her look, but it was cute. Just ignore the mess in the background, my housekeeping skills have been lacking lately. Just ask Jeremy.

Update

My daughter still eats dirt

• The "yep" has returned. Just as quickly as it left, it is back. I love it!
• We've been at the Oregon Coast this weekend, and Jeremy finally enjoys where we live.
• Carolyn's favorite animals are birds, and she claps for them when they do a good job flying.
  

Blog Hiatus

Just a quick update to let you know I haven't given up on the blog. Our laptop has been down, so I get very limited computer time. Right now I'm stealing time on Jeremy's work laptop while he sleeps. Things are going well for us all. Carolyn speaks in sentences a bit. Mostly if the sentence starts with "I want." Like "I want tv" or "I want outside."

Spring finally came to Portland and we are enjoying time outside. Carolyn brings me her sunscreen at least once a day asking me to put it on. Now we are just looking forward to Jeremy's time off at the beginning of June. He's taking two weeks off and we are staying in town. We might take a day trip somewhere, but we have the luxury of just spending time together as a family without stressing about Carolyn traveling, or her sleeping habits. I am really looking forward to it.

A Lady Says Yes

Carolyn has the cutest "yep" you will ever hear. And she'll say it all day long too. My mother taught my nephew how to say "yes" when he was little, and I was wondering if Carolyn even knew how to say "yes." So one time when she answered "yep," I asked if she could say "yes." She could. And she has never said "yep" again. I miss it.

Laundry Help

I left an empty basket outside the dryer because I was distracted by the phone ringing. After a short conversation, I returned to see Carolyn helping her mama out. She doesn't quit a job until she is done!

Here's a clip of her finishing the job.

I can't wait until she's older and I can employ her all day while I nap or read trashy novels.

A Morning Kiss

Parties

Carolyn's been to birthday parties for her cousins, but Saturday was the first time she went to one for a friend. It was adorable to see the friends all sitting at a kid table with party hats, eating food. Afterward, Carolyn got a goodie bag that she insisted on carrying home like a purse. She had so much fun and loved it all. The best part? She took a long nap afterward.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

In my defense, I was paid a whopping five dollars to do that. Carolyn did it for fun. Also, Jeremy dressed Carolyn that day. I disclaim any knowledge of that outfit.

Catching up

It's been so long. Mostly because I've been lazy. Just not feeling like blogging at the end of the day. Or finding the cord for my camera. Although, we are lacking pictures, Carolyn has been up to some antics lately.

One day I was at my brother's house, when Chandler came down and kept telling us "shoe, shoe." We told him he was very smart and to go play until we finished making dinner. Finally, when time to eat, the two older children had come down, but not Carolyn and Chandler. I went up to herd them down, and as I turned the corner, I saw Carolyn with one foot deep in the toilet bowl, the other dangling over the edge. She looked at me like "how do I get off this thing?" And you probably guessed it, her shoe was soaked! I suggest always investigating something if a toddler comes downstairs urgently repeating something.

If Carolyn can't do something, it immediately becomes hard. She'll repeat the word over and over until one of us come to save her. In her language, it sounds like "harsh. "But what happens when we don't help? Well, I'll tell Carolyn she can't have more rolls, and she reaches for them saying "harsh." Or I tell her no throwing toys and she says "harsh." I really wish I had video of this, because it is much cuter than it reads.

We are very much enjoying springtime, and hope to be able to spend a lot more time outdoors very soon. We hope everyone else (even those in Alaska with fresh snow!) get some warm weather and can enjoy some sunshine.