Tommy's Birthday and a Visit from the Chattertons

This year for Tommy's birthday we had some extra-special visitors: Grandma and Grandpa Chatterton! We had a great time showing them around our new home and experiencing all the best things in Beaverton and Portland.

We went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market where we bought tons of strawberries, got Tommy a fire hat and a balloon sword, and played at the playground.

Grandma and Grandpa gave Tommy this Superman cape and mask, which he loves! He is so into superheroes now. Grandma and Grandpa also gave Lily a consolation present; a baby that cries and coos when you push her belly. They are so sweet and thoughtful.

Tommy requested an M&M cake, so this is what I put together. It was very tasty, if I do say so myself. While we were at the store Tommy saw these pink marshmallows, put them into my shopping cart along with a bag of regular white marshmallows and said, "The pink ones are for my birthday and the white ones are for regular days." How can you say no to something like that? They went on the cake along with four candles.

One of the presents that we gave Tommy was this big styrofoam airplane. He decorated it with stickers and put it together himself. We spent several hours at the park throwing this thing in the air and watching it fly, much to Tommy's delight. Grandpa and Daddy were definitely the best throwers.

The evening of Tommy's birthday we went to our neighbor's house for dinner around their fire pit. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and ate the cake. Tommy got to play with his friend and run around all crazy. He loved it.

Here is Lily at the Boehm's. Isn't she cute?

We went to the park the day after Tommy's birthday and he went dressed like this. He felt like Cool Cute Numero Uno. I think he is carrying an umbrella and yes, that's a wrapping paper roll stuck in his belt. The other kids at the park thought he was pretty awesome.

Here is Lily and Grandma. They are so cute.

We hiked around the park a little bit. I love this baby-wearing dad! Parks in Portland are fun because you can play in the grass, play at the playground, or take a walk in the forest. It's all right there. On this adventure we found a lake and hiked all the way around it. Awesome.

The Chattertons came with us to the Children's Museum, which the kids love. We ate pizza outside afterward.

We love you guys! Thanks for coming to celebrate Tommy's birthday with us!

Thanksgiving and a Visit from the Chattertons

This year we got a special treat when the Chattertons came to visit us for Thanksgiving! We love those guys so much. In the days before Thanksgiving we went to the park to feed ducks, played at home, and shopped at Sam's Club for six months' worth of cheese. Dale fixed everything that was broken at our house and cleaned out our garage. They took the kids on several shopping expeditions and put the kids to bed while Ben and I went on a date. We love those guys and wish we could see them more often:) The night before Thanksgiving Tommy was sick. He was sick at least 7 times during the night so there wasn't a whole lot of sleeping going on for anyone but Lily. There was, however, a lot of laundry being done at 3:00am. We were grateful that Dale was in town so he could help Ben give Tommy a blessing. In the morning we weren't sure what Thanksgiving was going to look like since we were so tired, but it all came together perfectly. All four adults helped prepare food, wash dishes, and entertain the kids. Tommy was so sick he just laid out on the couch, watched Donald Duck, and drank his slushies. By the afternoon we had put together a beautiful and delicious meal comprised of turkey, stuffing, rolls, roasted potatoes, green beans, yams, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. After our feast Sharene entertained Lily while the rest of us napped. It was a wonderful day where we pulled together as a family and helped each other out. It was the lowest-stress Thanksgiving I can remember. Gratefully, by about 6:00pm Tommy's fever broke and his appetite returned. He's been healthy ever since.

Grandpa snuggling our sick boy. Do you like his sick table? Complete with barf bowl, slushies, and movies.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, we are very sad that Grandma and Grandpa Chatterton had to leave. They are the best in-laws a girl could wish for. The kids (even Lily) loved playing with them and missed them a lot today. To make ourselves feel a little better we went outside and swam in the pool. Can you believe it? November 23 and it's still warm enough to play in the water. Crazy, but fun.

Denver September 2011

Well, as late as this post may be, at least it's here finally! My goal is to get completely caught up on our blog before the baby comes (more nesting to do, I guess). So, here is a fun post about our trip to Denver back in September. We actually left for Denver about three days after we got home from San Diego, but you wouldn't know it from this blog:)

Ben had a work retreat somewhere in the mountains that he attended for four days while we were there. That left Tommy and I to spend some wonderful time with Stephanie, Grandma, and Grandpa.  We spent the whole week Chatterton-style:  totally chill and restful.  We went to the park, played outside in the sandbox, and shopped at our favorite thrift store.  We stayed home a lot and played with cars and trucks, watched movies, and went for short walks.  It was a great week.  The videos and pictures tell it best, so I'm just going to post those below.  Enjoy!

This is Grandma and Tommy at the grocery store.  I think it was one of Tommy's favorite outings all week.  They have these super fancy cars for the kids to ride in.  It has a little TV on which to watch cartoons, plus the regular steering wheel and the doors that open and close.  Tommy felt like a king.  At one point we picked up a sample of strawberries from the produce department and Tommy just sat back, ate his snack, watched some TV, and enjoyed being pushed around the store in style.

This is a pretty typical evening at the Chatterton's.  We love spending time there because we get to relax and catch up on our favorite TV series.

Here are Stephanie and Tommy together.  Steph was Tommy's best friend the entire week.  She was so cute to play with him whenever he wanted her to (see the video below about playing Rumble).  Every morning when Tommy woke up his first question was always, "Where's Stephanie?"  If she was still sleeping he had a hard time waiting for her to wake up and come play.  Thanks, Steph, for being such a cute aunt and friend.  Below are a couple of videos of Tommy playing with his best buddy.

Here is a video of Tommy playing with Grandpa:

And one of Tommy playing a duet with Grandma:

We love you, Chattertons, and we can't wait to see you again soon!

There's Nothing Better than Phoenix in January

In January we enjoyed a lovely visit from Ben's family (we missed you, Steph!). Tommy and Rachel were best buddies the whole week. Rachel was so nice to play with Tommy and to be such a good example for him. Thank you to Ben's wonderful family for doing so much for us: Sharene for buying all the food and cooking on her vacation; Dale and Mike for fixing our house, our yard, and our car; Mike and Hillary for being such great house guests and for going on a double date with us; and Joel for putting up with all of our shenanigans.
Rachel and Tommy love each other so much. They were perfect playmates. Rachel showed Tommy how to be a big boy by sitting in his own chair and going down the slide at the park by himself. She was so cute in the way she communicated with Tommy. She said things like, "Tommy, can you say pancake?" and she interpreted his babbling for us. He misses having a constant friend around, so come back soon!
Tommy and Rachel loved holding hands everywhere we went. She even helped him go down the stairs a few times!
We fed the ducks in Estrella a few times while they were here. The kids loved it.

We went to the park every day the Chattertons were here. It's a good thing since they are buried in snow in Denver now! Tommy and Rachel have matching shirts that Grandma bought. They could have played together for hours in the sand.

Grandpa read lots of books and played with the kiddos a lot (in addition to all of his amazing home-improvement work).

Here is Mike holding Rachel and Tommy. Tommy thinks Uncle Mike is pretty hilarious when he juggles and makes funny faces.

We hiked up to a waterfall in the White Tank Mountains. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, there was no waterfall, but we'll try again after it rains sometime.

Grandma and Grandpa played a fun game with Tommy on our hike. He loved standing on all the rocks, big and small, so they helped him climb onto the rocks and then jump off. He loved it!

Rachel was so nice to be Tommy's rickshaw driver from our house to the mailbox. Tommy sat on his hands so they wouldn't get hurt in the wheels and dragged his feet the whole way. It was probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Rachel and Tommy played a duet together. It was beautiful!

Uncle Joel played with Tommy at the park. He could have stayed there all day long!

Our Trip to Denver

Last week we went to Denver to spend some time with the Chattertons. We spent Easter there (which also happened to be Dale's birthday, so that worked out well) and then hung out the rest of the week. We had a great time relaxing with the Chattertons and watching Tommy and his cousin, Rachel, get to know each other better. Rachel was really sweet to Tommy the whole week and wanted to do things just like him. Even though she is about 1 1/2 years older than Tommy she insisted on doing the same things that Tommy was doing: crawling, eating the same foods, and wearing the same color bib as he was. She did a good job sharing her toys and her grandparents with Tommy. We appreciate the Chattertons for watching Tommy while Ben and I went on a date one night and went to the temple a few nights later. I especially want to thank them for taking good care of him while I did my long run that week, and thanks to Dale for coming to pick me up when I hit my 16-mile-mark and couldn't walk another step! We had a great time playing at the park and visiting a museum in Denver, but our favorite times were spent just hanging around the house and chatting. We love you guys! Here are a few pics from the week:

Tommy got really good at pulling himself up to furniture. He'll be walking before we know it!

Tommy and Rachel holding hands in the car.

Tommy and Mommy.

This is what happens when you feed chocolate mousse to a hungry baby.

Grandma Chatterton with her two grandkids.

Grandpa Dale and Tommy bonding over some good old-fashioned tickling.

Tommy and Rachel crawling together.

Tommy in his Easter outfit (he's going to sell some papes later:).

Rachel and Tommy in their Easter outfits that Grandma made for them