Where We're At Right Now...

Lani took some pictures of Kairis last Saturday while Joel made mucho messes in our kitchen. (I'll blog about this later)

Kairis was fussy when these pictures were taken, and unfortunately, she's not really any better yet. After two doctor visits, we've concurred she is probably teething. I am hoping she wakes up one morning with a mouth full of teeth. Though, that would be mysterious as she has zero teeth currently. A tired, sleep deprived, desperate for her daughter to feel better very, very soon can dream, right? So, yes...these pictures say perfectly where we're at...what stage we've hit, and what stage we're looking oh-so forward to moving past, soon.

But then again, I know I'll regret wanting this stage to pass so quickly in about 25 years.

I officially have a "mover"

What an odd post title, I know...I am lacking in the creative department as we had a rough weekend with Kairis. I think she's teething...but just to be on the safe side, we're going to pay a visit to her dr. and be sure nothing else is going on in that little body of hers.

Anyway...Kairis is SO close to crawling. She's scooting and pushing herself all over every room of our small home now, and has found tv speakers (the tall, upright kind that are top heavy), heat vent covers, computer plug in cords, and all sorts of other things we're not fond of her playing with. I guess we'll be spending this spring break baby proofing our home. Not something I'd anticipated, but then again...I should have known this would be coming some day soon! :)

Tim and I are in awe of how fast she's moving now and how many things she can find in just a matter of seconds. And, how many times she can bonk her head on something and act as if it was no big deal, when even just a month ago, those things would have certainly brought her to tears.

We've also spent this past weekend rearranging every room in our house, except for the bathroom. Well, we rearranged K's bedroom about a month ago, but, essentially, every room has been tweaked in some big ways this past month and weekend. I am loving the new arrangement of everything. We have much more space in our dining room, and our living room is actually more "friendly" and "welcoming" and a fun place to spend some time in. Surprisingly, I actually feel like we've created more space too--something I never thought possible, unless of course we were to sell off some furniture or something. I actually have more space in our bedroom now that's "free" space, and a cute corner in our living room for another larger chair or smaller loveseat. (maybe) And a free wall in the dining room for K's toys or a fish tank. I'm hoping for the latter...but it depends on the cost of setup, etc. I am going to visit a fish store soon and price things out, as I think K would *love* watching fish swim around from time to time. Not to mention, I'd enjoy it too!

Anyway, I'll post some pictures of our new setup sometime. Until then...enjoy some pictures of our cute corn-bug. :)

Fun in the woods

9:35am: rocking Kairis to sleep for what I thought would be her morning nap. No luck.

9:47am: walk into bedroom holding a happy Kairis on my hip while I start to fold laundry.

9:49am: notice 1 missed call and a new voicemail from Kristy.

10:07am: driving in the car to what Kristy endearingly calls "the woods" (a woodsy area near Lewis & Clark park in Troutdale)

10:16am: exploring unfamiliar territory with the two cutest girls in the world, two scruffy dogs, one mom who actually looks like she knows what she's doing and one mom who hasn't the slightest clue.

12:09pm: pure bliss as we're driving home, after spending 2 hours in this brilliant sunshine, near the Sandy river, after walking nearly 3.5 miles in secluded woods.

Did I mention I love Friday's?

(these pictures were taken on our hike today, after we reached our aforementioned destination, the sandy river).

Graceful and Kristy had a great time making sandcastles together while Bluie and Bomber swam around the river wagging their wet fur all over us. As for Kairis, she slept I'd say 90% of the time in my carrier. Thanks for inviting us along on your adventure, today, Kristy!

2 wet Saturdays

This past Saturday we had such nice weather we decided to take Kairis on her first hike! (well, the first was Multnomah Falls, but this one was the first in her backpack carrier.) We took a short drive to Silverton and did a 3-4 mile loop around South Silver Creek Falls. (If you have never been there, you MUST go!) The views are amazing, and it was fun to go behind the falls (where we got wet!) We enjoyed the excercise and Kairis loved the first waterfall, but fell asleep on part of the journey. It was great fun and we are planning more hikes very soon! Here are a few photos from our adventure:








The previous Saturday, the weather was nice but we got wet indoors. Shireen turned 6 so we went to the Aquatic Park for a birthday party and Kairis' first real swim. It was a fun party and I even got to go down both the purple and yellow slides! here are some photos from our time there:






We've got plenty more fun photos and stories to come...

-T