Pixie Hollow Visitors

Some of the citizens of Pixie Hollow have decided to visit our house for awhile. We have tiny fairies and their tiny animal friends who are camping out in the teapot on the dinning room table.



Silvermist and Rosetta, who like to stay on Anna's bedroom floor, in the Silvermist soft flower house.



Of course, Big Rosetta and Big Tinkerbell like to stay in Rosetta's soft flower house.



Slightly larger little fairies are in the dollhouse. The Fawn is sleeping on the second story living room couch ... I guess being an animal fairy does have a few perks.



And this is my favorite, the Tinkerbell soap in the bed next to the baby beluga and mommy beluga whales. Anna has been sleeping with this bar of soap for several months now, the whales are a new addition to her nighttime friends. I always think ... hummm maybe I too would sleep better with soap in bed with me.

Happy 11th Month Sam

Amazing, Mr. Sam is 11 months old today and it feels like we just got him ... He is such a joy and has added so much to our family. Sam is very vocal and makes lots of squeaks, raspberry blows, and "da da" noises. He can give you "five", clap his hands, drink from a straw, and point to things he wants to look at closer. He has become a super fast crawler, pulls up to stand, and likes to sit on his knees like a prairie dog to look around. Sam sleeps all night in his own bed very well now. I wish that I would have bought the noise reducing machine much earlier as it is the key to his sleep.



This photo was taken by Stephanie during our afternoon, get out of the hot house and into the AC, play date.



Anna has bloomed as a big sister. When she is not hitting him on the head, she is kissing him and teaching him how do things. Lately she has been crawling next to him and trying to get him to saw "dog." We are happy that she takes her responsibility as a big sister seriously. These photos are from January 2007, when Anna was 11 months old.

Were Having A Heat Wave

Sometime when it is so very hot outside, the only thing you can do is lay near a cool fan in your birthday suit.



It was extremely hot for Portland today. The high temperature this afternoon was 103 downtown and 108 at the airport.

The Need For A Third Hand

The Zoo, Big Boy Shoes, And A Light Up Duck

We went up to the zoo this morning to see the animals before it got to hot. We might have been a little to late for the river otter. He was asleep in his den. Anna was glad that she could climb up the ladder to peek in on him.



Anna always likes to look for Osbert (My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel) in the penguin house. Due to the heat and extra the horrible penguin house smell, she settled for a quick hug of the "Osbert" statue.



Somehow, the little tiny barn owl was not effected by the heat. He was up and flying around his enclosure.



Sam spent the zoo trip in the stroller eating and looking around for the train. He was very excited about the train, lots of screeches and points when it went by. He also was probably thinking about how great his new big boy shoes with extra room for his toes were going to feel on his feet.



After a long hot day, nothing is better then a cool bath in the sink with a light up duck.

Balloon Games

Sam had so much fun playing with balloons yesterday. He had a few fall down because you are laughing so hard moments. Anna lined them up around Sam and would run around hitting them ... so much fun and so silly.



Since a purse is very necessary, you must always play games while holding one.



Here they are lost in the "balloon jungle."

Crawler's Toe

Poor Sam has worn a little blister on the bottom of his toe from all the stomach dragging that he has been doing this past few weeks. He likes to move by using his toes to push off and then dragging his tummy with his arms ... I noticed today that he was crawling in a more standard style. I think it is due to the blister sore.



I feel very bad for the little guy, the toe blister, a whole mess (at least 3 new ones) of red and puffy teeth coming into his mouth, and I am not nursing him anymore (due to biting). I hope tomorrow things will look up for him.

Finger Paint

Anna did some finger painting yesterday. She was very excited about the whole process. And she really did not want to wear pants since "you can't finger paint in pants."



Most of the paint ended up on Anna, the chairs, and the small table. I think next time we might finger paint outside.



The painting (7 large ones) turned out very colorful and tick. It might take them a few days to dry.

Ice Cream Social Sunday

Fancy Nancy Party

Anna went to the bookstore's Fancy Nancy party on Thursday. It was a very popular event with lots of little girls (and Henry) all dressed up fancy. I somehow forgot my camera, so Stephanie was very kind in letting me use her photos. If you want to see more beautiful party photo's you can view them on Stephanie's blog.

Anna and Katie walking to the party. I think this is one of my favorite photo's taken in a very long time.



Looking at the little wand party favors.



Val doing her storytelling magic. Anna loves to see Val. She is a little possessive of the bookstore and especially of Val. She had a hard time with all the "other kids in her bookstore."

All Stars Game

We went to the Pacific Coast All Stars Baseball game last night. It was a fantastic game and we had so much fun. I told Anna that if she ate a peanut butter sandwich before we got to the ballpark she could have anything she wanted. her response was "does anything mean soda?" This photo is Anna after trying cotton candy for the first time.



Thank you Nana and Pop pop's it is alway fun to go see baseball with you!

Sam Laughs

Charles fed Anna and Sam while I went for a run tonight. He was able to catch Sam laughing at how funny he sounds when he yells ... he is such a cute little guy.



Anna thought Sam was being pretty funny too ..



It is always nice to find surprise photo's on the photo card.

The Baby Beluga Trip

Nana and Pop pop's took Anna, Sam, and I to Vancouver for the weekend to see the Baby Beluga. The baby is only a month old and she does not have a name yet. We had a lot of fun and got to see a great aquarium.



We are looking for the butterflies in the Amazon Rain forest area.



Anna was excited to see real live seahorses.



Pop pop's are I liked the sea otters.



We watched the Planet Earth movie in 4D. It was a really beautiful movie and one of the most active 4D movies that I have ever seen .. lots of movement by the seat, bubbles, air on the legs, water sprays, ect.



Sam blew kisses to people as they walked by him. He also would clap his hands to get attention.



We also had a lot of great food to eat. Anna did a really good job of tasting new foods.





Mr. Sam has become a food terrorist ... he screams really loudly when he feels that he is not being fed fast enough. It is ok at home with the family .. a little embarrassing in a restaurant.





Thank you for a very fun trip!

Lilo And Stich Dress

We are going to see Lilo and Stitch later on this summer. Nana made Anna a dress and purse to wear that matches Lilo's dress. Anna has been so excited about this ... running around and screaming "Aloha Stitchy!"



She really likes this dress! Thanks Nana.

The Happy Birthday America Weekend

We had a nice holiday weekend with lots of low key fun for the kids. Anna and Sam went on a trike ride for two. Anna has to steer (or be the driver as she likes call it) the trike in order for the "for two" part to work. She does not quite have this down yet ... so it takes lots of "helpers" to go on a ride.



Sam loves to ride on the trike. He puts his hands on the handle bars and tries to put his feet on the petals. I think Sam may end up being "the driver" sooner than Anna thinks.



Saturday afternoon, while Nana, Anna, and I went to the fabric store. (I can not wait to photograph what Nana is making ... so fun and great. I am going to keep it a surprise until "they" are finished). Sam and Charles played in the yard.



Anna was pretty excited to see the fireworks Pop pop's got her. He bought a large box of stuff that would be fun, not frighting, for a three year old. This is Anna all excited to see them while listening to the sparkler safety lecture.



This is the last of the fireworks are fun before they burn you photo.



She had a spark that landed on her pj's and burned a small hole in them. She is fine; however, very upset by the whole event. Like a trooper, Anna got a little burn cream, a few band-aids, and a Popsicle and then she was ready to watch some more fireworks.