Redirect

Hello friends and family! Please join us at our new blog The House with the Red Screen Door. You can now sign up for an email subscription to our latest posts- see you there!

Our Winter Wonderland

Sunny but cold days have meant lots of time spent bundled up and playing outside. These clear and vibrant winter days are a real treat for Oregonians who spent the majority of wintertime soaked by rain. Jack continues to enjoy play dough, and it's something we don't mind playing, either.

Sawyer already has his BFF picked out. This is Noah, the baby who lives across the street with his parents, Katrina and Mark. We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood with so many little kids and young families.

As much as I love being outside all summer long, there is also something to be said for the cuddling, tickling, and silly times that happen on the days when you're stuck inside.

Jack and Sawyer's cousin Xavier came to visit. He is a sweet little man who makes our kids seem pretty wild by comparison. I think he must be an old, wise soul.

Weekly trips to the library mean lots of time spent reading and snuggling on the couch.

Our search for the perfect Christmas tree was a success! This year we went to a farm near my work and cut down our own tree. I have finally come to the realization that it's worth it to spend the money and get a nicer tree. It looks beautiful. I'd love to show you photos of us decorating the tree, but anyone who has ever attempted decorating a Christmas tree with two small children will understand why there are none.

Fall to Winter

Winter is creeping in upon us and we have been spending our evenings huddled around the new wood stove. Why didn't we get this sooner? Our house has become a very cozy place. Sawyer has become somewhat obsessed with the wood stove and I see a hard lesson in his future...

Despite the drop in temperature, Jack still spends many hours outside. He will spend time out in the garage just puttering around or out in the yard looking at plants. The other day he informed Brent that there was a nail sticking out of the back fence, went into the garage and found his hammer, and promptly "fixed" it. I love this kid.

Sawyer wants to touch the wood stove. Sawyer wants to walk. He is such a determined little guy that it scares us. He is completely fearless.

This last week has been a long one. Two different friends were each given devastating news about their pregnancies and now must grieve for a child that will never be. My heart is broken.

And yet, my heart is full. Throughout this week of sadness and questions and grief, I find myself surrounded by love and giggles and kisses and hugs.

This world is a very strange place.

Oops...

I guess I forgot to post these pics from our trip to the pumpkin patch. No captions needed.

Puppies!

Here are the boys in their Halloween fancies! Jack's puppy suit was so big on him last year that I decided he could wear it again this year. This was a brilliant move on my part because it meant that I only had to come up with Sawyer's costume. I thought it would be perfect to dress him in a brown sweat suit and then all I would have to do was make a smaller version of Jack's puppy hand. Pure genius, I tell you!

Ha.

After waiting until the last minute (Friday night) to get started on the hat, my sewing machine (which has been limping along for awhile now) finally went wheels up. What's that I am always telling my students about waiting until the last minute to start things?

I raced up to my friend MaryAnne's house on Saturday morning and got the hat finished just in the nick of time. Well, just in the nick of time for Sawyer to decide that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He refused to wear the hat, opting instead to gum and drool on the ears and scream bloody murder when we tried to snap a few Halloween photos for posterity.

But we persevered into the next day and finally captured this momentous occasion. Can't you almost hear the wailing?

Apples, year 3

It's hard to believe that this is our third annual trip to the apple orchard. We started going the year Jack was born and we decided to make it a fall family tradition. I just can't quite wrap my brain around the idea that we've been doing this for three years now. Time is really flying.

This year we picked over 70 pounds of apples! Luckily our neighbors, Katrina and Mark, turned us on to this fabulous apple peeler. When you are mass producing applesauce with two small children underfoot, anything that saves time is a huge help. We all pitched in for the first of many batches (easiest baby food recipe ever!) over the weekend and already we've eaten through a giant Nancy's yogurt container of the stuff. It is so good.

Sawyer Swings

This picture makes me laugh every time. There is nothing sweeter than a happy baby...