Cannon Beach Part 3 - visitors!

On the Friday of our week in Cannon Beach, Pappa Tom, Grammy Barbara and Auntie Alexandra came to visit and brought Lizzie the puppy along! We were all very happy to see everyone, Saul especially so. However, he wasn't so sure about Lizzie, and still isn't. She so wants to play with him and is clearly used to children. But, Saul doesn't seem comfortable when he can't predict what's going to happen and instead avoids Lizzie. Sad!

We took a nice walk to the beach, though it was the one day that the wind was crazy and chilly, despite the beautiful skies. We also relaxed around the cottage and got a little walk into town before getting a last visit to the beach before they headed back to Portland. It sure was nice to share some time with family! Pictures of our fun day are below.

Sleepy Monk, coffee spot between the cottage and the beach. Yummmm.

Lizzie enjoying her first beach experience.
Saul loves his Auntie Alexandra. He loved spending extra time with her. Notice the hood despite the bright blue sky. This to protect from the heavy breeze.

Saul posing.

Lizzie immediately discovering the benefits of soft sand.

Reunan sleeping again.

Relaxing back at the cottage.

Pappa and a sleepy Reunan.

Beautiful!

Tired puppy sums up the day!

Cannon Beach - part 2 (rainy day fun)

So apparently I'm uploading CB pictures backwards! The first part of the trip was the rainy part - we spent a lot of time bundling up and playing on the beach with an extra set of clothes for Saul at the ready so that we could change him before the walk home. We learned from our cold Easter weekend experience! We also spent a lot of time inside playing. Alex and Todd have the most amazing, low, sturdy coffee table. I'm sure they never intended for it to be a kid play station, but it worked perfectly.

With all the wet weather, we also decided to copy Michelle and Jeff in our beach-time adventures. We drove up to Seaside to go on the carousel. We discovered that Saul has absolutely no fear of these things! When he saw it - the first time I think he's seen anything of it's kind - he charged it and tried to get through the gate to get on at that moment! Who knew! We had to explain the idea of waiting in line, paying and waiting our turn to get on. I got to go with him two times. As we were paying and entering the second time, he told me I could go "stand with Dadda." I told him I needed to stay with him because he was a young boy and the guy wouldn't let him ride if a parent wasn't with him. Later, after the ride, I asked him why he didn't want me with him. He said, "Well, Momma, the other kids didn't have their mommy with them." Oh, no! Really?! His independence and awareness of these things has really started all ready. As shown in the pictures, though, he did let Aaron go with him two more times. Lucky boy!

Reunan was so great on this trip. He slept well, enjoyed stroller time more than he had to-date and generally adjusted to the situation. We had so much time relaxing with our boys!

Reunan making eyes at owl.

Opening his marble maze for the first time (it was a birthday present).
Starting the building process.

Very proud boy!

Playing with the final piece of work.

Reunan sleeping through the action.

Playing on the beach on a windy evening.

The carousel!

And again!

Lunch at Fort George brewery.

Reunan sleeping through lunch.

Love this picture - each boy with his evening drink of choice (beer and milk) while watching a little tv before bed (note you can just see Reunan swaddled behind Saul's head).

Happy boy!

Cannon Beach - part 1

It feels like months since we were in Cannon Beach for a week, probably because it was two months ago already! It was our last hurrah before my return to work and it was amazing. Thanks to neighbors and friends Alex and Todd, we were able to stay at their Cannon Beach Cottage for the week. The first portion of the stay was cloudy and rainy and the last few days were beautiful! It was so, so nice. Here's the first set of pictures....

Saul playing on a sunny evening.

Reunan chilling out and driiiiiiifting to sleeeep....

And asleep.

Gorgeous night at the beach. No wind, blue skies, gorgeous clouds and happy boy!

Saul riding his strider on the beach. He loved playing in open space - no helmet, bare feet and just pure play! Not sure who dug this hole in the sand, but Saul loved it for his "dirt bike" time.
Heading into the bump.

And heading back out of the bump.

Love this shot.

Reunan loved the beach. The sound of the ocean seemed to lure him to sleep.
When he was awake he was so happy!

My Heart's Melted

Saul's bedtime story had a line about a puppy melting it's new owner's heart. He asked me why the heart melted. I explained that it's a saying we use when we fall in love. And that when I first held him my heart melted. He looked up at me and asked, "Is your heart still melted, Momma?" "Yes, Saul, my heart will always be melted for you...and your brother and your dadda," I answered. And it melted a little more.

Saul's 3-year stats and comparisons

Just for fun, here's a comparison of how Saul's grown in his birthday chair over the last three years, along with his birthday weight and height. Crazy!

Saul at 3
Weight: 36 lbs. (8 pounds up)
Height: 37 inches (2 1/2 inches up)

Saul at 2 (yes, the shirt similarity is intentional)
Weight: 28 lbs (only 1 1/2 lbs more than at 15 months!)
Height: 34.5 inches (4 inches more in height)Saul at 1
(stats from 15 months)
weight: 26 lbs., 12 oz
height: 30.5 inches long

Saul's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Saul's third birthday on his actual birthday this year. And, he shared the day with Father's Day. This year the party was a little different, with more of Saul's friends. With the small backyard, we ended up not inviting Tillamook family, but look forward to getting together to celebrate a number of summer birthdays with all the nieces and nephews....one of these days!

This was the first year that I didn't buy cupcakes from Saint Cupcake. It was a combination of Saint Cupcake moving and not being open and me feeling oddly motivated to make them myself. My first plan was to make brownies that we would use for banana splits, as we were following just a bit of a Curious George theme. However, with our fabulously old oven, each of three batches of brownies came out differently, starting with too hard (the outside 1" was nearly rock solid) to perfectly yummy. But, by the third and perfect batch, we were short on ingredients. At the same time, Saul continued to talk about how he was going to have a cupcake. So, at 6 a.m. the morning of his birthday I decided to find a cupcake recipe and make them for him. Thanks to the blog by Jami Curl, the owner of Saint Cupcake, we had delicious cupcakes made by me, who doesn't bake!

Below are pictures from the day:

Saul woke up at 8:45 on his birthday morning. He must have heard Aaron pull up with Saul's birthday hot chocolate and the favorite gummy beat on top, compliments of Jim & Patty's.

I realized this morning that Saul was wearing the same pajamas on his 2nd birthday. Click here to see what a year does!

The birthday boy and his little brother, all dressed for the party. The first year with crafty activities - decorating their own bucket for later use in the birthday sandbox.
Neighbor Lassine got into the action by decorating his beer bottle.

Saul and his cupcake! Claire was so excited about cupcakes she may have gotten hers before Saul! It's always nice to have an appreciative crowd. Kate and Audrey
Neighbor Sara and Saul's friend Josephine enjoying cupcakes. (Josi's mom and dad and Aaron and I met in our birthing class.) Playing in the birthday sandbox! Look at all that space.Pappa Tom and Reunan have a little time.

Compare to this picture of Saul at about the same age.

Saul opening his present from Pappa Tom. He opened the remainder after his nap. Such nice gifts he received!