Fun in the Sun

Nothing better on a hot summer day than to play in the sprinkler with cousins and go for a ride in his car!

Old friends

We had a mini mama reunion the other day when Bridget was home. It has been years since I've seen some of these girls and now we're all "grown up" and have kids. Trying to get a group photo proved a little difficult with so many little ones, but we managed one in the end!

Blue Lake Park fun

We went to Blue Lake Park and were surprised by a water park! Josiah LOVES, loves, loves water so it was a fantastic day for him! He also loves his car and rode all over the park, including through the fountains. He got nice and wet but loved every minute of it.

So my computer broke a few months ago...it smoked and burned to be more exact. Thankfully the nice computer man was able to get my important things off of it, but it is now happier in laptop heaven. That meant bad things for me in the blogging world. You see, I like to blog with my legs kicked up, sitting on the couch or bed, just kind of writing and posting. With two desktop computers in the house, that proved to be a problem. Not only can one computer not post pictures, the other one is a bit slower than I'd like and my patience often ran short. Hence, no blogging.

But I am happy to say that I and our new laptop are back in the blogging world. I have missed it in a weird sort of way...as much as you can miss a blog I guess. But I love writing, I love pictures, and to it is a great way to share both.

My days are mostly filled with Josiah, sleeping, and working. Josiah is a dream baby. He is the love of my loves and fills my heart so greatly. I have some favorite times with him, like when he wakes up at 6:15 and lays on my chest while we watch a bit of Baby Einstein while the rest of the house sleeps. Or when we rub noses. Or he chews on my chin (he's still without teeth!). But one of my most favorites is when he just falls asleep so calmly and peacefully before a nap or at bedtime after nursing. I know, lots of people say it's a bad habit, but it's one I can't break myself of. I love napping with him...he comes and naps with me when I am sleeping after a night shift. I love it all, even the hard stuff because after all...what is there not to love??

My baby boy in a basket

Josiah had another "grandma photoshoot" the other day while I was napping. He clearly hates having his picture taken and is surprisingly patient with photos...as long as he has something to chew on!

I just love this little boy so much, words don't even do it justice. He is more fun literally every day and always has something new to show us. He is like a little sponge just soaking things in and learning so fast.

Family photos

Riverview is not only an excellent place for dinner, turns out it is also great for family pictures! We were there with our family a few nights back and as my mom always brings along the camera, we took advantage of the great backdrops for some photos.

Seattle

Ariel and I took a little trip with Josiah up to Seattle for the night. We had such a good time, we continue to talk about it! It was perfect weather and we had a great hotel near the market and mall and it was just a special time for the 3 of us. We all slept in the same bed which meant we all woke up earlier than normal, but thankfully Seattle had attractions for us at 5:30 a.m. and some Starbucks. We even got to meet up with some friends that were in the D.R. with us, Layne and Caitlin. Josiah was a champion traveller and we timed the driving time (3.5 hours) to his nap time and so he slept through most of it! We are now huge fans of Seattle and can't wait for another trip!

Summertime!

I forgot just how awesome summer in Oregon is. The weather is now perfect, not too hot and not too cold. The evenings are cool which make for a nice walk or just being outside. Josiah thinks summer is also great as he gets to be out all day long (minus nap time). He has eaten his fair share of all the berries that are growing, and thankfully we have frozen lots so he can have them throughout the year. It's even been hot enough a few days to put him in the blow up pool, of course, we had to use hot water!

Old friends and babies

It is so nice to have "old" friends. Friends that you have known for almost all of your life. Jenny and I have been friends since 3rd grade, Bethany and I since high school. How our lives have changed through the years but how special it is to have grown up and changed together. We met up with our little ones at the zoo the other day which was so much fun. Josiah is a bit animal lover so it was clearly a big hit! He smiled and "talked" the whole way through. It's so nice to be back in Oregon for more than a few weeks and be able to do fun things like these!

New Ride

Josiah LOVES going for walks, being outside, and doing all of that in his stroller. I saw a picture of my nephew Gabe in this car and knew Josiah would love it. Love is a bit of an understatement. Josiah can literally be in this car for hours. I know because we've tried. Ariel has taken his for rides at Fred Meyer a few times, and we went to the park and all around town in it! You can tell by the pyjama picture that we car-ride at all hours of the day. Definitely worth every penny of the car purchase price just to see his excitement!

4th of July

For the 4th, we had a big party at my parent's house. Both sides of the family came over for a big BBQ with my mom's amazing ribs and endless salads and sides. Of course we had a bonfire and once it FINALLY got dark, we had an awesome fireworks show at home. Josiah slept through it all, only to wake up once it was over, but he wouldn't have remembered it anyways. What a fun week it was to be together, play together, and reconnect with everyone!

Roasting Pollo

So each of us had a night to make dinner for the family so Ariel and I made a Dominican dinner. He spent all day roasting chickens over the bonfire pit. He did an awesome job and tended to them so well. We also had rice (moro de guandules and arroz con maiz), fried sweet plantains, arepita de yuca, and salad. It was fun to cook for everyone (after Ariel and I stopped disagreeing about the fire!) and I know Ariel loved being able to share a little bit of his country with the family.

Family Week

My brother and sister-in-law drove up from California to spend a week with us in Oregon. It was the first time in years that we have all been together.

We did a lot of cooking and eating and spending time together. The kids were outside nonstop playing on the swings, in the pool, and picking berries. We had a little bonfire each night which was almost my favorite part!

7 months

7 months old??? He has mastered sitting on his own and is now working on standing up on his own. He can pull himself to a stand if he is grabbing onto my shirt or something high. We've been working on getting him to crawl...it might happen one of these days!

Cabin time

We took a few days and went up to Mt. Rainier in Washington. We stayed in a lovely little cabin with a fireplace and hot tub and BBQ! In the daytime we went on some hikes on the mountain. Many of the upper hikes were closed because there is still so much snow! It was such a nice time to relax and spend time together with the 3 of us.

Portland trip

We took a trip into Portland during the Rose Festival and got to see all the ships and lots of people. We took MAX across the river and then walked back to where we parked the car. We had a picnic snack along the way in the park and Josiah got to nap in his stroller. I love these sunny days...and so does Josiah since it means he gets to be outside so much!

growing up

It feels like I just brought Josiah home from the hospital but here he is...wanting to stand and hold on and be a big boy. It's incredible to see him change and grow so quickly.

6 months

We've been able to mange getting Josiah's photo done each month which has been fun to compare each one to another. This boy has grown up being constantly photographed, so he is a ham in front of the camera. He knows that when the camera comes out it is time to smile...he never disappoints.

Fingerpainting

So I wanted to send fingerprints and handprints to the DR for Ariel's mom...Josiah didn't know what to do at first. It started out so fun and entertaining, until he decided to suck his thumb (top right picture). He didn't like the taste of the paint too much, but at least it's non-toxic!

Still alive!

Wait a minute, I have a blog? It's been years since I've updated due to a new job, a little man named Josiah, and Facebook. But a part of me misses the writing, the explaining, the more than a little caption on a photo for Facebook updates.

Josiah is almost 8 months and is the joy of every minute of my day. He makes me laugh like no one else can. He has so many new tricks, can do so many things. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for the blessing of this baby boy. So here are some new things about Josiah:
-he loves being outside, to a ridiculous extent
-he has a farmers tan, a serious farmers tan
-he hates being on his tummy and therefore is not yet crawling...he might go straight to walking as he likes to pull himself to a stand and can "walk" with the help of two hands
-he has tickle spots now
-no teeth yet
-his favorite song remains "We Wish you a Merry Christmas"
-he is an avid thumb sucker
-I have yet to "sleep through the night" with him...maybe by the time he's 15 we'll get that down
-he loves Peek-a-Boo with a blanket and can do it by himself
-his favorite thing to eat is yogurt, to a unbelieveable extent
-he cuddles, which is especially amazing after coming home from work

So we're doing well. The transition to me going back to work (Emanuel Labor and Delivery) has gone surprisingly smoothly. Ariel is a super dad and has gone above and beyond to take care of this little man. We're feeling more and more settled but remain in a continual transition as we get adjusted to life in the U.S.