Somerset Turns 1!

Somerset's 1 year photo with Joy the Owl. She has grown so much!

I took Somerset for a walk on her actual birthday. She sported her new Hello Kitty sunglasses.

Being presented the cake. She actually didn't get the cake all over her face like I had hoped for.

On her birthday. Looking so pretty!

My Parents

Our friends, the Neps

Evie and Aubrey at the craft table

Mike and Veronica

Daddy assisting Somerset with her new hat. Thanks Nichole!

Nichole and Simon

Becky, Patrick and Arabel

Hello Kitty Cake

G-Pops plays the guitar for Summy

Aunt Tiffy, Uncle Martin and a reluctant Somerset.

Our baby girl isn't much of a baby any longer....she turned 1! We had an amazing birthday celebration with friends and family and even though she didn't know it was her birthday, I think she felt all the love surrounding her.

We had about 30 friends, family and children over and even though our backyard b-b-q bash was moved inside due to the rain, we made the most of the day and had a great time. Our family all chipped in to help feed the masses and we had a delicious meal of ribs, b-b-q chicken, beans, coleslaw, potato salad, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a Hello Kitty cake. Joe also was proud to serve his home brew, that was gone by the end of the party. Everything was scrumptious.

Somerset was showered with toys and other adorable gifts! She and Leo have been having a blast playing with all her new things. She also received a new car seat and shoes from G-pops and Grandma Paula, a 1st birthday portrait session and diapers from my parents and some generous monetary donations. What a lucky girl!

The best part of the party was getting together with all our friends and family. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives and so is Somerset.

Preschool!

Our little boy is growing up so fast! On Thursday, Sept. 8, Leo started preschool at Wee Wisdom. As we imagined. he loves it. His teacher, Mrs. Kepner, says he is awesome and is very involved and good at getting other kids involved with activities as well. In true Leo form, he had no problems leaving mom and day behind, and waved to us happily as he left for class with his teacher and new friends. Leo has already made a new friend Donovan, who is his #1 buddy at preschool. We are so thrilled and proud of our social butterfly!

Tomato!!!!

All summer, Leo has been taking very good care of his tomato plant and we were worried that there would be no harvest. However, all of Leo's diligence worked out and a tomato has ripened! Yeah!!! Blts for dinner.

Summer Fun!

Pulling herself up!

Harvesting the Hops!

Jameson Park

Summy and Simon. Not the best photo of her, but they are so cute together!

On our way to the chilly coast!

Standing!

We have had such a great time now that Summer is in full swing in Oregon. We all enjoy being outdoors, especially when water in involved. Last week we went to the coast and today, we went to Jameson Park, which has a water feature that both kids went crazy for. Since it was so hot, the kids had a great time cooling off (as did I). Somerset was very brave in the water and was seated right by a gushing waterfall. She didn't hesitate to have water rushing towards her and had a blast. Leo was laos getting a kick out of running around and splashing.

Somerset's language skills continue to advance. She now says "this" all the time. She uses it when she points to something she is interested. She also says"ddddah" when she sees a dog. Joe has heard her say baby, balloon, night-night and bird as well. Sometimes she will call us mommy and daddy too.

She also is starting to pull herself up from a seated position and can stand while holding onto furniture. Scooting is still the transportation of choice, but she is more interested in getting up on her feet now.

Leo just ended his 2nd session of swim lessons and his confidence is building. He LOVES swim class, so we may need to sign him up for more fun.

Leo starts preschool this week! We are all so excited. Many pictures to follow soon. Leo is super excited to make new friends and I know that he will be a huge hit with his teachers and classmates.

Joe harvested his first hops. He has worked very hard to grow them, so hopefully the beer will be extremely good.

Favorite Sibling Pic Yet!

Who knew playing in a cardboard box could be so much fun?

The Bs have it!

A forced smile, but so handsome!

Expert Jumper!!! Leo jumps all the time.

Somerset is obsessed with balloons!

11 month portrait with Joy the Owl

Serious messes come from this girl

My boy has a major sweet tooth

Downing a smoothie.
Somerset is a good little eater!

This week has been all about bs. Somerset has had a language explosion and now says ball, balloon, bottle and bubbles. It's crazy how many words she picked up in such a short time. She also is getting really good at mimicking. When I put her on the baby swing at the park, she squeals "weeeee," and she tries to say "I love you," which sounds like Al-lah-lah." It is very heart warming and is so gratifying as a parent.

She has taken a real liking to Angelina Ballerina and Elmo. She is also starting to show a real preference for certain toys. When we take her to the toy department, she squeals at all the girly things. She loves the dolls and anything shiny. She is as much a girl as Leo is a boy.

She still has yet to crawl, but scoots like a real pro. I think I have accepted that this is her chosen mode of transportation and that's just how it's going to be.

Leo is loving swim class! He isn't a very good listener to the swim teacher, but he has such a blast. We will continue to work on the listening skills. The teacher loves him anyway because he has so much spunk and energy . The teacher said that he is a nice kid with a lot of energy.

Leo also got a new tricycle. We have never bought him one, so this is all new to him. Joe takes Leo out and they practice steering and moving the pedals. He loves it!

Leo is my sweet boy. He is filled with so much love. At nap time and bed time, he always says things like, "I love you a million, trillion zillion! I love you soooooo much!" It makes me feel so good about being a mommy.

The kids are really starting to interact. They play together and they can disturb each other too. It usually revolves around Somerset knocking down or breaking a Leo Lego creation or Leo taking away a toy that Somerset is playing with. For the most part though, they get along fabulously. In fact, right now they are playing a game called Smash the Blast. Leo made this up and it involves blocks and balls crashing into each other....typical Leo!!!

Summe rtime fun!

We've had some fun times now that summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Leo has been taking swim class twice a week and has been having such an amazing times that I signed him up for another round of classes. He is at the very beginning level, but the best part about class is that he takes it without parent participation, so Somerset and I watch along the side and he feels like a big boy because I am not with him. He is so fiercely independent and always prefers to do things alone when given the chance.

Leo also loves flying balsa wood planes with Joe. They go to the park and fly them down the hill. Leo has always had an uncontrollable urge to throw things, so at least this is a good outlet for that.

Somerset has picked up a few new words. She now says ball and E-lah (Elmo). She has finally fallen in love with the furry, red guy.

She still scoots around on her bottom to get around, but boy is she fast. She leans forward and puts her hands in front of her, so she is so close to crawling if she chooses too.

Leo and Somerset are partners in crime. The both act crazy together. Today we took them to a grocery store that had side-by-side kid seats in the cart. They were both making each other crack up and were acting CRAZY!!! It was cute, but they are getting wild together.

Joe and I went on a real date alone to our friends' Brian and Nancy's wedding. It was a gorgeous Oregon day on a beautiful vineyard. We had an amazing time and were child-free thanks to Grandma.

I was nominated as my work's employee of the month. It was a good feeling and although I tend to be shy about being the center of attention, I was grateful for the recognition.

Joe's hop plants are going crazy. It will be a great harvest for him and I am sure that he will have so much fun brewing beer from his very own hops. Go Joe!!!