Is It Warm?

Last week, my sister and I met half-way to play. We found a great park with a splash pad! While my fun-loving niece was scrambling to get in the water, you couldn't have paid Rooke to even take his shoes off. He was so happy to watch.

Rooke did, however, end up a little wet. We all underestimated the distance of one of the sprinklers! He finally got over it and we all enjoyed a picnic lunch.

During one of Gretchen's naps, Rooke and I decided that his cars and trucks needed a bath. ONE AND A HALF HOURS later, everything (including my kitchen floor) was clean!!

Remember those verbal skills I mentioned? I'll give you one guess as to the temperature of the water . . .

Summer is Official

Everyone has their "mark of summer" . . . tank tops, swimming, sunshine . . . but since we live in Seattle, I would be a fool to wait for those things to begin my summer. For me, summer is official when we get to go berry-picking! Let the summer fun begin (even if we do have to wear jackets and it's not sunny!!) Thankfully, we have great friends who were as excited as we were to go berry picking . . .

"WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Rooke went right to work as soon as everyone piled out of the car. His job was making sure the strawberries tasted good enough to pick.

"Look, Mommy . . . I ate everything but the flower!"
If they were smart, the farm owners would have a price/pound on kids' before and after weight!

Last year, Jaime and I had to work on keeping the kids from stepping on the strawberry plants and only eating the red ones. They knew just what to do this time around. Averie was giving Rooke lessons on how to eat the strawberry in one bite!

Sarah with The Loot (tune in to my food blog to see how we use those 13 pounds of berries!)

Berry-picking is one of my most favorite childhood memories. I hope the same for my kids.

Gross Motor Skills

While Rooke is above average with his verbal skills (annoyingly off the charts sometimes), his gross motor skills haven't quite kept up. He was in rare form on this particular day and was willing to "perform" some of his "skills" for the camera. I love this guy . . .

Six Months

Our little girl is six months old today! It seems as though things are starting to make sense in our home again. It certainly was not easy for me to adjust to having two little ones at home, but life is beginning to feel a little more relaxed and somewhat predictable - and I love this precious girl! Her open-mouthed smiles aren't very hard to get, she loves watching her brother play, and lights up when she sees her daddy. She is sitting up on her own, would rather be playing with Rooke's toys than those meant for her, and always wants to stand or bounce. She's still spitting up a lot, which has kept me from trying out too many solids just yet, but is taking much better naps and is overall a very happy little girl!

I think she went to sleep praying . . .

She quickly became the center of attention for many of the kids in Rooke's toddler class

Six month stats (we have one very well proportioned daughter!):
Height: 26" - 60%
Weight: 16lbs. 4oz. - 60%
Head: 43cm - 60%

And just for fun, here is Rooke at six months:

Happy Daddy's Day

To G-Daddy, Big Daddy, and our Daddy . . . Happy Father's Day!
We are blessed to have such wonderful men in our lives.
Love, Rooke & Gretchen

G-Daddy: calm, gentle, generous, consistent, patient,
loving, sensitive . . .

Big Daddy: wise, serving, intentional, thoughtful, generous,
attentive, disciplined . . .

From the first moments we met you . . .

we knew exactly who you were and were soothed by your calming voice.

You've played with us plenty,

and guided us with your gentle hands,

but so far - what we love most are your kisses,

your attention,

your cuddles,

and time.

You are the perfect daddy for us. Thank you.

Family Fun

I'm a little behind, but here is a bit of what we enjoyed last weekend. . . Ryan and I fell in love over bagels and coffee during our 24 hour weekend-breaks from working at Pine Cove camp in Texas. We have sweet memories from that summer. Ryan thoughtfully took me out for bagels and coffee on Saturday morning to kick off our summer.

Then we headed home, packed up the kids, and went to West Seattle to enjoy the low-tide park with the Heavilands.

There were lots of slimy, squirmy creatures to look at! Ryan was pointing out a shrimp . . .

I don't have the words to describe how much I love this picture! Thank you, Aunt Kaydonna!

The boys entertained themselves while we waited for our burgers at Zippy's. James speaks Rooke's language.

And then, the unthinkable happened . . . a very long fire truck pulled into the station across the street. I know. Jaw-dropping, right? All chewing ceased.

Our families (sorry I'm blocking you, Saisha)

Growing Up - Gretchen's Got Skills

At 5 1/2 months, the littlest member of our bunch of Paynes has done quite a bit of growing up in the past week. For starters, she is getting her first teeth! Her two bottom teeth have almost completely poked through! Also . . .

She's mastered the art of sitting on her own!

Shhhh . . . don't tell Rooke I let her play with his cars and trucks!

She tested out a sippy cup for the first time . . . and LOVED it! Loved gnawing on it, that is.

The picture above reminded me of this one taken when we gave Rooke a sippy cup for the first time at the same age.

As if that wasn't enough, she got her first taste of infant cereal!

She did pretty good with the spoon . . .

and wanted more . . .

and more . . .

"Don't even think about taking this away from me, Woman."

All that growing up wore her out and she took one of the best naps of her life (literally!) while a babysitter was here for Ryan and I to enjoy a breakfast date. I love our little Gretchen.