Random pictures

These two play together pretty well most of the time. Lizzy likes to teach Bear funny things to do, and Bear likes to follow her around, copying her every move. Here they are "eating ice cream."

To encourage Lizzy to go to sleep without us in the room, I often give her a couple of books to read. Usually she reads quietly and then tosses the books on the floor before going to sleep. Sometimes she doesn't quite finish her book, however.
Sleeping and reading. That's my girl.

Growing up

About three weeks ago, we were all sitting around watching television, when Bear crawled over and did this:I guess he wanted to see the TV better. Doesn't he look proud of himself? He is crawling so much earlier than Lizzy did. He also pulls himself up to stand every chance he gets. Although he can keep himself up for long periods of time, he has not yet figured out how to get down. Usually his little feet start to slide apart until he is practically doing the splits. And then he starts to whimper. Bear also loves the bath. Anytime he hears someone going into the bathroom, he crawls just as fast as he can, hoping it is time to get in the tub. He splashes, crawls around, and has a wonderful time. He doesn't even mind (much) when I get water in his eyes.

It's great having a big sister. Bear gets to play dolls (he LOVES this dollhouse!),

and the kitchen, too! I hope he's cooking up something yummy for me. A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach with my sisters. The kids had a great time. Bear got to explore the sand, which he enjoyed. He played with it for a long time before he tried to put any of it into his mouth. Then he was in heaven. Apparently, the boy likes sand.

I can't believe how fast my little man is growing up. I sometimes wish time would just stand still and we could stay in this moment forever. He and Lizzy are so much fun! They are such sweet, happy children, and I love them so much!

Upstairs

When we moved into this apartment, our upstairs neighbors had two-year-old and three-month-old boys. Sometimes it got a little noisy. They moved out after we had been here about six months and we had blissful silence above us for several weeks. The next family to move in had a two-year-old boy and they were pregnant with a little girl. They were LOUD. We liked them a lot, but sometimes I was certain that little Benjamin was going to come crashing through the ceiling, dragging an elephant or two with him. Pretty much everyone who visited us would look up at some point with shocked eyes and ask if it was always that noisy. Yes. Yes, it was. They lived above us for two years, and after awhile we mostly were used to it, but when we learned they we moving, Isaac and I couldn't help but be excited for a little bit of quiet. They moved out last week, and I was anticipating uninterrupted nap times. I did not anticipate the workmen that came in today to get ready for the next occupants. Or that they would have to apparently tear out the carpets. And all the appliances. And the counter tops. From the sound of things, I'll be surprised if there are any walls left when they are done up there.

Going for walks

Lizzy, Barak, and I go for a walk just about every day. There is a road close by our home that has very few cars and is perfect for letting little ones run, while passing fields of sheep, cows, and alpacas. Every time we walk it, I am reminded how lucky we are to live in beautiful Oregon. (Especially on sunny days.)Midway through the walk is this lovely old covered bridge. The kids love playing on it.We almost always go with our friends Jason and Angie. The kids entertain each other, leaving the moms some time to chat. Lizzy has recently developed an interest in taking pictures. She took the rest if these photos (with a little help from me). I think she's pretty good. Here's Jason: I wish the picture showed off this kid's eyelashes. They're gorgeous.

And Angie (seriously, one of the prettiest women I've ever met):

Barak was there, too, of course.

And me, too. Lizzy had to get a picture of us all.

Boy with the super-long tongue

I wanna post something, I really do, but I can't think of anything interesting to write. Life is good, but normal. Barak cut his first tooth and is trying so hard to crawl. Lizzy keeps trying to tell me she's Mommy and I'm Lizzy. That kind of thing. I don't think I've taken any good pictures recently, either.

The Beach

I am ashamed of how rarely my children have been to the beach, for all that we live only an hour away. I don't believe Barak had ever been at all. On Saturday we decided to risk the weather and go for it. Lizzy's little friend came with us (we gave her mom the day off), and we were set to spend a couple of hours poking at things in tide pools, digging in the sand, picking up seashells, etc. It rained just a bit when we first arrived, but not enough to make anyone miserable. We were having a great time. The girls were in their rubber boots, running daringly close to the waves, shrieking in mock-terror, and scurrying away. Isaac kept hollering at them to stay away from the water, but in my opinion rubber boots are made to get wet. I had just reached to get the video camera out, when I looked over my shoulder and saw the girls standing in water up to their ankles, and the wave was on its way IN. Pretty soon, the water had swamped their boots, and Lizzy instinctively turned toward land. Such an abrupt pivot with feet weighed down by salt water and sand caused her to tip over pretty spectacularly. Flat on her back in six inches of water. Her friend, in a move of pure solidarity, immediately joined her, laughing all the way. Now I am an experienced beach walker, so I had a complete change of clothes for each of them, but I didn't have extra shoes, or dry coats, so we went home. In total, I think we were there 45 minutes. At least Barak has seen the ocean now. My biggest regret is that I didn't get the camera out in time.