Another wonderful reason to love the number 3

We are so excited to finally share that we are expecting baby #3 in our family! I am 12 weeks along, and expect our little one to arrive in August (sharing a birthday month with Maddie). I've been super sick, so it's been a rough couple of months. Here's to hoping the next several months are pregnant bliss! Ha! We are so thankful to God for this precious gift.



Here's a shot of me and my prego sister :) She's due 3 months before me!




Big sister Madeline!

A reason to celebrate 3

My baby Marin turned 3 this month, and she is changing by leaps and bounds every week. Man, I can't believe I've been a mom for three whole years, that we've lived in Portland that long and been in our house that long. Time flies when you are living your dream :)

Kyle made her a "princess cake" by request, and she was fully spoiled by all the people who made her feel special on her big day/week.













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And here's Marin using her new camera, to capture her arranging skills. This is what happens when two engineers breed children!!

Holiday news

We were snowed in for Christmas this year! What a treat, this meant lots more time together as a family. Marin and Maddie got some special gifts too, including a train set, red play kitchen and did I mention the snow?

Happy belated New Year to you all!

Man, after the holidays, I'm pooped!! I just crumpled in a lump right on the couch.

Chocolate Bliss

I got the girls a treat the other day. Those chocolate chip cookies from McD's didn't look this messy in the cookie case. Oh well, at least I have black carseats. Viva la delish messies!

Fa La La La La

We got our Christmas tree this year at Furrow Farms in Hillsboro. I forgot we went there 2 years ago, and my friend Leah suggested it this year so we ventured over. I forgot all about it - it's a neat place, complete with tractor hay rides, free hot chocolate & cider, a cute little shop, and nice trees. Too bad we forgot any sort of cutting tools for the rope, so we spent the majority of our time cutting the twine with miniature nail clippers. Wow. At least we had the clippers or I guess I would have been using my teeth.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, every morning Marin says to me "Mommy, what should we make today?" I'm always scrambling to think of something to have her mix, stir, roll or fold. She is quite the kitchen diva! She is muey proud of her gingerbread house. Except I let her eat a bunch of the leftover candy, not realizing the ball candy was actually gum. Too bad she's never experienced gum, hence not aware that you don't swallow it. So we have about 37 pounds of gum in her tummy. Needless to say she has had a tummy ache for the past few days, a bout of the runs, and yet STILL look at the smile on her face posing with her apron and her creation. True love for the kitchen! She takes after her Daddy, once again :)

Thanksgiving in Renton

Thanksgiving this year was spent with the Newell family, complete with delish turkey dinner with Nana, Grandpa, Great-Nana, Papa, Auntie Jessica (who has officially announced her pregnancy, due in May!!) and Uncle Geoff. Other fun activities over the weekend was a family wedding in Seattle, Black Friday shopping, Snowflake Lane Christmas parade, ginger-bread house construction and other general merriment. Let the holiday season begin!

Fishing Take 2

Another fun trip to the trout farm in North Plains. This time accompanied by Auntie Sarah, Uncle Drew and cousins Miles & Christopher. Those 2 year olds really know how to reel em in!

We heart our cousins

Auntie Kate and her daugher Erin were in town visiting from Oklahoma and came over for lunch, accompanied by Auntie Mara and cousins Megan and Katelyn. It's hard to see in this picture, but baby Erin has the most gorgeous blue eyes you've ever seen. We wish you lived closer Kate!



The weather has been gorgeous so we just had to take another venture to the zoo with Auntie Sarah and cousins Miles & Christopher. I just can't get enough of that "baby fix" with that cute elephant romping around. Also witnessed a baby warthog. Not as cute as the elephant, but still worth a mention. Marin and Miles barely cared about the animals, they had too much fun running around and exploring off the beaten path.

And here is another random picture of my bathtub sweeties. Everytime I bathe them together, I get completely soaked. I keep thinking one of them is going to put up a fuss with all the massive splashing, but nooooo. I think they are conspiring to get Mom as drenched as possible. Oh well, that's what dryers are for, right?

Two happy holidays

I love having a birthday two days after Halloween. I used to have costume parties for my birthday growing up, and one of these years I am going to throw myself another one. But this year I had no need to throw myself a party. More on that later :)

For trick-or-treating, the little girls were ladybugs ~ yes both of them ~ of course they match!!! Marin was poring over her small stash of candy after we took them to Avamere Retirement Home to visit with the residents and collect some chocolate. After Avamere, we came home and visited a few neighbors before settling in for an evening of door bell ringing and take-out.

My 32nd birthday was on Sunday, and to celebrate, Kyle and I went to Park Kitchen for dinner Saturday evening while Nana babysat (thanks Nana!) ~ too bad we forgot our camera, because we were looking dapper that night! We spent half the time enjoying the place, and the other half making whispery fun of all the "HT's" that we could spot. Hoity Toity people are funny.

Then Sunday we had church, lunch, presents and lemon pie from my favorite: Beaverton Bakery. On top of the present pile was one which Kyle told me "you can't open this until 5pm". It made me crazy to wait, but I was a good girl.

So once 5pm rolled around, I ripped open the present ~ and to my surprise it was the first clue to a scavenger hunt! Devon and Sommer planned the most elaborate, funny and thoughtful adventure involving several of our other friends. All the stops included places with inside jokes, favorite stories and when I arrived at each place, a new friend was there to meet me and jump in my mini-van for the next leg! By the end I had a van full of friends and a heart full of happy :)
We ended the evening at Papa Haydn for dessert, and stayed out waaaaaay too late considering we all have young children who are not adjusted to daylight savings yet. Did I mention that I despise daylight savings? Never mind, I don't want to ruin my happy mood by thinking about it.

My birthday was so fun, and the best part is that I was not expecting all the attention and so the thrill of feeling special was that much more fabulous. Thank you to my besties and family for making my day!

And these pictures are just showing you how Maddie is becoming a ham.