Why I Love Washington..

Every August I get soooo excited for blackberry season. Almost every day I ask Dave, "Want to go pick some blackberries?" Whether or not he does actually want to go picking, he always says yes and then laughs at me for being so excited about it. Then I remind him that he takes these tasty WA berries for granted because he grew up here and they grow like weeds everywhere! Whereas, growing up in Chicago I always had to pay big money for very mediocre store bought berries. Lizzie, however, shares my true love and excitement for blackberry season. She's a very good berry picker and berry eater. She will continue to eat as many as we let her. This little hand in the berry bowl was no setup. She was following me around when she saw me with a bowl of blackberries and very sneakily waited until I was busy snapping a picture before snatching a berry for herself.

One of my favorite things to do with blackberries is to make blackberry pancakes!

We went blackberry crazy-making blackberry pancakes with blackberry topping!

Lizzie was very excited to see her name in blackberry pancake form. It was very amusing to watch her carefully dip each letter into the blobs of whip cream before stuffing them in her mouth.

Family Time

The same week that Julie was born Dave changed jobs and bought a dental practice in Lakewood. Not only does he get to work as partners with his dad, which he loves, but we get a lot more family together time! No more traveling 2 hours to Centralia every day. Plus, he gets every Tues. off! The girls and I are looving having more time with him!

Lately, we've been going to the local farmer's market and outdoor concerts. This week, the band performing stated that this was the absolute most beautiful area they have ever performed in. I'm sure it was- up on a hill, the beach and Puget Sound as a backdrop, and a gorgeous sunset!

We had a blast hanging out with Mike and Jessica this week, too. Jessica was nice enough to entertain us at her house and it sure was entertaining! Lizzie loved the swimming pool! Afterwards, we explored the farm property and it did not disappoint- blackberry bushes, picking apples, collecting eggs from chicken coops, and a brand new litter of puppies!

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Today is our 6th anniversary! I can not believe it has been that long since I met the man of my dreams at BYU.

I met Dave a couple months into my freshman year at BYU and the rest is history! How could I resist a stud on a sweet bike? lol.

The past six years really have been the best of my life. I never believed in love at first sight but that's pretty much how it happened for us as we sat down next to each other in Biology 101. Something amazing happened and we've been inseparable ever since.
Six years and two kids later, I can still say that Dave, you are the man of my dreams and I'm so lucky to have you! Happy 6th anniversary!! You're an amazing husband and father!

Dizzy Miss Lizzie

This was our first test run using our camera for video recording so we were still figuring out how to focus...

Lizzie loves to entertain us. This usually consists of a lot of spinning and some dancing.

2 Weeks Old

Julie is 2 weeks old today! And i can't think of a better way to celebrate this milestone than taking her in for her 2 week doctor exam and newborn screening test! You know, the terrible one where they do the PKU test and poke the poor baby's foot for 10 min to get blood samples? It was very sad to witness, but all for her own good, right?
Well the doc reported that Julie has gained back and surpassed her birth weight. She's growing well in the 50% and everything looks good!

So far at 2 weeks, Julie is an amazing baby. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to get a baby as easy as Lizzie was, but she really seems to be so far. She's very even tempered (unless I'm torturing her with a camera in her face like above :/ ) And the best part of all is that she is an awesome sleeper clocking in 6-7 straight hrs. of sleep at night...so far (these things can change with time I know)

When I took her to the lab for her blood test, today, the nurse asked me, "Is she anything besides Caucasian?" To which I responded, "no." Then she asked again, dubiously, "No Hispanic or anything?" I guess I wasn't that surprised because she does have all that dark, thick hair. In the pic above I had just taken her out of the bath and it looks like she might have some curl! It generally stays straight once I comb it though!

Well, happy two weeks of life Julie! We are so glad to have you in the family!

Julie Fish

This little fishie outfit is so cute! Lately we've been calling Julie a little fish because sometimes when you are holding her she will try to flop out of your arms without any warning. It happened first to my mom. She was holding her while sitting on the couch and Julie flopped her head and body with amazing strength enough so that she flew out of my mom's arms onto the couch next to her. Dave and I just looked at my mom incredulously, hardly believing a newborn could do that (while thinking she must have slipped out of my mom's grip)

Then, it happened again to Dave 5 min later, and he supported her claim that she seemed to just jump out of his arms (don't worry she's not really flying out of our arms completely, and its always onto the couch when we're not fully gripping her).


Since then, it happens fairly frequently. We have to really hold a tight grip on this girl because she will, without warning, utilize all her tiny newborn muscles, simultaneously, to flop her head and body out of our arms! She sure is a cute little Julie fish though!

Do They Look Like Sisters?