Hannah Says...

Emmett these days...

A few new "Emmett-isms"

• says "C'mon mama" or "C'mon dada" while waving his arm in a circular motion
• when asked a yes or no questions answers "uuuuummmmm.......sure!"
• asks "mama doin'?"  "daddy doin'?"  "mama goin'?"  "dada goin'?" all day long!
• likes to look at things on the computer.  this morning he crawled up on my lap while it was "networking" and i asked him what he wanted to look at.  he said "uummm...print coupons?"  i must do that a lot??
• will say "i no want to!" when he has to do something he doesn't want to do
• calls any child of any age or size a "tiny baby"
• if I ask him how something he's eating is, he answers "pree good"
• likes to use the word "really" which sounds like "wee-wee".  Wee-wee hurts, wee-wee good, etc.
• says "thanks you!"  (notice the 's')
• says "I don't know" when asked a question that he really doesn't know the answer to.

So far the twos aren't too bad!  He certainly has his moments, but overall he's a pretty good little boy.  He continues to amaze us with his vocabulary, curiosity, energy, abilities, etc.  And we are enjoying having a two-year-old more and more.

Our Friend Leigh

Sadly, our dear friend Leigh went to be with the Lord on Sunday.  She had bravely battled cancer for the past 2 1/2 years.  We have the ultimate comfort in knowing that she is now completely restored and is home in heaven.  No more tears, suffering, or pain.

I first met Leigh at our wedding.  She is the wife of Brent's childhood friend, Andrew.  Since they lived on the East Coast, I only physically spent time with her a handful of times.  In 2005 Brent and I took a vacation and spent a few days with them in New Hampshire.  It was then that we discovered that we were married to practically the same person.  This made for a unique bond!  We joked that if we lived in the same city that our husbands might not let us be friends, because we could easily get into trouble together!  Because of Brent and Andrew's deep friendship, I felt like Leigh's and mine came naturally.

What I know about Leigh was that she was a remarkable person.  She was fun, sassy, hilarious, goofy, Godly, passionate, and brave.  Throughout her entire battle, she praised God, knowing that He was in control.  Her sprit and attitude never ceased to amaze me.  She had an openness about her faith that inspires me.  Even though this ending has always been a very real possibility, she never wavered.   

Leigh leaves behind a wonderful husband and two adorable daughters Julia and Clara.  Please keep them in your prayers.  I know Andrew is completly at peace with his current situation, but I am quite sure this isn't easy for him. 

2 Cor. 5:8 "Yes, we are fully confident and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be home with the Lord."

(Picture from our 2005 trip)

And, here's an article written about her.  I hope you all can read it!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/photo.php?pid=2566697&id=699805247

A Weekend with Friends

Thursday Emmett and I headed down to the Portland area to spend some time with our favorite friends, Hannah and Shannon (mine) and Gracie and Sophia (Emmett's).  Because of a hay truck that caught fire, it took us about 4.5 hours instead of the normal 3.5.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well Emmett handled it!  Very little whining.  Some of  the fun included:

• homemade pizza night
• a trip to gap kids for major bargains
• watching mandy make vegan cupcakes (tastes much better than sounds!)
• decorating the vegan cupakes
• gracie's 2nd birthday party
• emmett making a painting on real canvas for brent
• playing "kitchen" a lot
• and playing "cash register" a lot
• teaching the kids just to "work it out" (the squabbling that is.  pretty minor!)
• spending a day with rachael and rogelio
• saying hi to grandpa bob and grandma nance (gracie's grandparents)
• lots of late night conversation

This was a semi-spontaneous trip.  Brent worked all weekend, so it was fun to get away and have something to do.  And, Emmett has been a great traveler, so it's becoming easy again.  I am so glad I went because we had a great time.  Emmett had a lot of fun with his friends, and it's fun to watch them learn to interact.  He's definitely a boy, but fortunately the girls don't let him get away with anything!  Thanks girls for a great weekend!

The Garden

Brent loves having a little garden.  We didn't get to have one last year because by the time we moved into this house it was too late to plant anything.  This year, however, he managed to get a couple of things in the ground.  His dad brought us some raspberry branches a few weeks ago and they have really taken off!  We are planning on just getting enough to snack on while we are outside, maybe next year we'll have enough to do more with.

 

I tried to get a picture of Emmett picking and eating a rasberry, but he's too quick.  All I got was him eating it!

 

Perhaps our favorite home-grown delicacy is...tomatoes!  We all love them, especially from the garden.  Too bad they won't ripen for a few more weeks.

 

A Trip to Grandma's House

We decided on Sunday night to take a trip up to Brent's grandma's house in Port Ludlow.  Actually Brent had decided a few weeks ago that he and Emmett would go, but I decided on Sunday night to go ahead and go with them.  We both had some days that we didn't have to work, and Brent had found that the tides would be in our favor (the house sits right on the water).  So Monday morning we packed up and headed out.  Emmett was a great traveler!  We stopped in Bellevue to eat lunch at Baja Fresh, which is one of my favorite places.  Then after a little more driving, a ferry ride and just a little more driving, we were there!  Emmett had a blast exploring the house, the yard and the "out building" (big storage building.)  He found big-wheel and spent a lot of time driving it around, calling it his "mo-orCYCLE".  (all caps for emphasis)  There is also a collection of toys kept there, many of which are from Brent was kid and maybe even some of his uncle's.  Lots of random stuff that Emmett loved.  Brent had some dreams of spending the day on the beach with Emmett, but sadly Emmett wasn't too thrilled.  It's a pretty rocky beach and can be a little tricky to walk on.  I think it was just too hard for him.  We had our traditional pizza dinner at Ferino's, the pizza place in town, delish.  We also took a trip to visit Fort Worden.  And of course we got a little history lesson from the family history buff.  I found it interesting, Emmett chose to run around instead.  All in all, the trip was really fun.  (Due in part to the fact that Emmett slept in a big boy bed!  He hates his pack and play, so I didn't bring it.  We put him to bed in the guest room and he only got up one time the first night right after he went down.  Brent did end up sleeping with him because the other bed isn't big enough for two adults.  I digress.)  We came back today and are all really tired.  I think this was a much needed break from everything going on these days.  We have been pretty busy as usual, and the time away was wonderful!  Look here for just a few pictures of our time.