Let There Be Blinds and Other Happenings

     We finally have blinds!  Our house faces west, and has gotten really sunny and hot.  We have been really tired of it.  Now in our great room we have some shades that block out the sun, but also let us see our view still. In the bedrooms we have some much needed blackout blinds that we are hoping will ensure that the girls sleep in more often.

     Avery set up her own little work station today.  She pulled one of her tiny chairs up to a set of plastic drawers on which she set her laptop and telephone.  Then she worked there for a good twenty minutes.  In other Harper news, she has given up entirely on her little high chair.  We didn't have anything fancy.  It was just a little seat with a tray strapped to a normal chair, but now she is refusing to sit in it anymore.  Instead she kneels on a regular sized chair to eat dinner with us.

Our easy bake oven room is gone with these bad boys up now.  

We don't have to wear sunglasses when the sun is setting! 

A close up of how the shades look.

Avery happy to be at her little desk.

She's got a lot of email to answer.  

Harper eating like a big girl.

I think it would be tiring to kneel through an entire meal, but she would rather do that then sit in her booster seat at the end of the table.

The Best Day Ever!

    According to our nephew, Tyler, yesterday was the best day ever, and this kid has been to Disneyland already! We went with Aimee, Karl, and Tyler to ride Seattle's newest attraction, a Ferris wheel that they are calling Seattle's Great Wheel.  The line wasn't too bad, and the kids were pretty good the whole time.  No one melted down on the ride either.  After we rode the wheel, we took them to the little arcade next door.  They rode the carousel, and Avery and Tyler got a jackpot of ninety tickets on one of the games.  They got some pretty awesome prizes.  And that was the best day ever.

The Great Wheel obviously.

Avery and Tyler.  

Harper being way too cool for us.

Aimee, Tyler, and Karl.  I don't know what the boys were looking at.

When I took this picture Harper kept saying that she wanted down.  Poor girl.

Daryl, Avery, myself, and Harper.  

The girls on the carousel.  Tyler was right in front of us, and I kept telling him to ride faster so we wouldn't bump into him.  He of course obliged.

A Massive Diaper Change and Some T.V. Watching

    Tonight I walked into the guest room where we keep the diapers, and found that Avery had laid out a bunch of Harper's diapers out.  Then she had placed some of her stuffed friends on top of almost every diaper she had laid out.  Apparently everyone needed new diapers all at the same time.  Maybe the diapers are just pretend beds.  I don't really know anything, I'm just the mom. Seriously I would love to know what is going on in her mind sometimes. The last picture is of her doing some t.v. watching with two of her best buddies bunny and comfort kitty. 

Pacific Science Center with the Kights

   Tuesday my BFF, Christie, invited us to come along with her and her family to the Pacific Science Center. An invitation that we happily accepted.  The girls had a blast playing there; although they almost exclusively ignored the four eligible boy bachelors that were there for them to play with.

Avery Puts Everyone to Bed

  Just recently Avery has decided that some special stuffed animal friends also need to be wearing pajamas to bed. At night she gets extra pajamas out for them, and then I find myself putting night gowns on stuffed cats and pandas.

This is everyone arranged just so for bed.

Avery was more than happy to show off her friends in their pajamas.

On this particular night kitty got to have his own special bed made up for him on the floor.

Hitchhiking the Toddler Way

   I found Harper sitting in some open luggage today in our closet.  She kept saying bye as she was sitting herself in it.  This girl cracks me up.

Buckling herself in for a safe ride.

Hi!

Bye!

Introducing Reagan Hope

    At three o'clock this morning I heard my phone give me the text chirp several times, and I thought to myself why am I getting texts right now.  After several minutes of sleepy thinking I realized that it could very likely be that my sister Nellie was in labor.  I was right; it was from my brother-in-law Paul.  It didn't take Reagan long to make her debut around four thirty this morning.  She was six pounds, fifteen ounces and nineteen inches long; and has a much more impressive amount of hair than poor Harper at eighteen months.  I love her so much already, and we can't wait to meet her!

The Happenings of the Week

   Here's a bit of a recap of our week.  Avery gathered all of the stuffed animals around for what appeared to be a pretend picnic.  All the more astonishing since we have never been on a real picnic before. She just continues to be one funny girl.  Harper has made the leap into a big girl bed. About a month ago we stuck a toddler bed in the room next to the crib, and now she's decided that she will sleep in it.  Then this weekend there was a lot of lightning. I would have to be a much better photographer to have gotten a picture of that though.   

Harper and Sebastian checking out the picnic.

That looks good.

Harper rocking the toddler bed.

Avery wasn't asleep yet when I took the picture of Harper, so she wanted her picture taken too.

Like I said night pictures are hard to take, and I am not really that skilled of a photographer.  This gives you idea of what it looked like the nights all the lightning was flashing. 

Nellie's Baby Shower

   This last weekend we drove down to the Sacramento area for my sister's baby shower.  Nellie is due at the end of the July.  My sisters DeAnna and Alex were there with my niece Addison.  Also my aunts Dianne and Joanne came with my cousin Lisa and her daughter Jen.  Additionally, our old friend and neighbor from Auburn, Kate (Stephens) Nally, was able to come to the baby shower with her super cute girls Maddie and Ellie.  

    We did a lot of swimming in Nellie's pool and just had a good time in general.  Daryl gets special kudos for watching all three little girls (Harper, Addison, and Avery) while I went with my sisters and oldest niece to get pedicures, and then watching Avery and Addison during the baby shower.  As always the trip was way too short, and we can't wait to see all our family again.

Harper right after eating a Klondike bar and looking fabulous as ever.

Avery and I in the pool. It is obviously very sunny.

Kate and DeAnna

Mom couldn't be there in person, so she Skyped with us for part of the baby shower.

Aunt Joanne and Ashlyn

Alex got Harper to fall asleep on top of her.

Nellie, Lisa, Aunt Dianne, Jen, Alex and Harper

Harper playing with Jen.

Ashlyn was being a super cool older cousin and let Avery and Addison play with her stuff.

Addison chose to wear some low cut Converse.

Paul and Daryl discussing manly things of course while Harper consults her calendar.

Alex and Nellie

Harper is still facing backwards, so she tries to turn her head as far as she can to watch the television screen in our car.

Fourth of July

   For Fourth of July Aimee and Tyler came up to spend the day with us (Karl had to sit this one out since he was still recovering from an illness).  Since it was low tide we went down to the beach and let the kids look at all the sea creatures that were revealed.  The kids really enjoyed it.  We saw crab molts, sea anemones, starfish, and lots of shells. Harper gave me a run for my money too trying to wade into the deeper parts of the water on the beach.  

   It was actually a nice day, so we were able to enjoy our deck furniture for one of the first times this summer.  Tyler had a great time playing the Kinect.  He had some awesome helicopter moves while playing Fruit Ninja.  Then we just watched fireworks from our deck. Avery and Harper watched for a little bit before they had to be put to bed, and Tyler fell asleep watching them. There were fireworks everywhere.  Vashon's show was really nice to watch.  It was a great holiday.  

Tyler wanted to help push Harper down to the beach.

Avery getting personal with a discarded crab molt.

Harper not impressed with a crab.

Tyler poking a starfish.

The kids also had a blast popping some bubble wrap I had laying around.

Yay we could use our deck furniture!

Tyler playing Kinect.

Night pictures are hard to take, but this gives you an idea of the show we had from our house. There were fireworks going for well over an hour.