A Visit to Daddy's Work!

Chris can sure entertain us and we decided to play a little game with him one day. We lined up all the balls that we could find, placed Chris across the room, and then waited to see which ball he would crawl to.
Two out of three times he crawled right to the soft blue and white soccer ball. The third time he crawled to a soccer ball about the same size only yellow and blue. The girls got such a kick out of it and were sure that he must know what a soccer ball is.

The highlight of the week was probably our visit to Daddy's workplace. The girls had not been there before and just couldn't imagine what it was going to be like.

Claire and Chloe (in the background) check out the office.....

Claire sits in Daddy's chair.....

We take a walking tour of the nursery.... Chris and Nonie. Chris needed some sun protection so Daddy loaned him a hat.

The girls each got to pick out a plant to take home. Mike said they both have excellent taste in plants given the choices they made. I am always amazed at the plants that both of the girls are familiar with and can name.

Chloe checking things out prior to making her choice of a plant.....

Notice the walking stance of Mike and Claire....very similar.

Chris gets a ride.

We followed up the nursery visit with lunch at McDonald's and some playtime in the indoor play area there. The girls had the place to themselves for the most part, but when a new little girl came in with her Mommy, Claire marched right over and said, "Hi, I'm Claire", and then Chloe said, "I'm Chloe, what is your name?" Claire soon came over and told Nonie and me that the little girl doesn't speak up, but she has a "belle" in part of her name. Clarabelle? Annabelle? Isabelle? We didn't ever find out. :)

Enjoy your Labor Day holiday!

Catching Up!

We have experienced a very busy two weeks and I feel like I am just about to get caught up with life again. The week before last, on one of my days with the grandchildren, Claire, as she often does, insisted on doing her own hair. She always wants multiple things in her hair and this is the evidence of that. I would have stopped at the little plumeria clip (my favorite flower of all time, by the way) but Claire really needed those two head bands as well. She thought it was beautiful and of course I agreed with her whole-heartily after I found that I couldn't convince her otherwise. Nonie arrived a bit later and was not only able to convince her to change to pony-tails but had a great idea for an outing. So off to the little lake we went, exploring the area a bit more. We packed a picnic and spent a short time on the shore of this small PG&E lake. Not really suitable for much, but the girls enjoyed gathering and then throwing sticks and pine cones in the water and watching them float away.

Chris was content to watch the goings on from his stroller for a little while.




Very soon we decided to go to our favorite and familiar park to swing, walk, and climb a bit. This may have been Chris' first time in a park swing, but at any rate, he loved it.









Upon my arrival one morning this beautiful art work welcomed me. Nonie had set up an art studio outside apparently, the day before, and the girls enjoyed painting and creating.





Claire telling me some important news and if you would like to see both of the girls giving me instructions and rules for our trip to Disneyland you can click here. I as usual was the "baby" and they were the parents. They had already rattled all of my do's and don'ts and then I asked them to repeat it.






Chris making the rounds of the playroom. Just in the two days I was there, I rescued him from the walk-in pantry (he was visiting the recyclables), picked up the plant and dirt that he had found and knocked over, and rescued him several times from corners where he crawled after something and then got stuck a bit. He is keeping us busy, busy, busy.

His first and successful attempt at pulling himself up. I was shocked.

Chloe listening to Papa tell her a story.

Papa Norm and I had a great time last weekend in Gold Beach, Oregon. We met our friends, Connie and Wayne, who were traveling home after spending a week or more in Seattle helping with childcare for their granddaughter. We shared a cute little house on the shore for a couple of nights and relaxed and caught up with each other. As I have mentioned before, we love to take the Rogue River jet boat trip and this may have been our sixth time. We have lost count. We always, always, enjoy it and this time we were so fortunate to see bears and quite a bit of other wildlife. This bear just casually walked along the shore and our boat idled and watched him/her for about 10 minutes I would guess. So fascinating!

This week I have been reminded once again how blessed we are with family and friends who support and love us and I am thanking God for each one of them and for good health and good medical care.

September is upon us and I can't believe it!

Action, Camera!

Chris' physical skills are changing daily. He can sit up with some support and appears ready to take off and crawl at any moment.

One morning this week the girls became princesses. They stayed in that role for the entire morning. Claire insisted she was Princess Suzie and she declared that Chloe's name was Princess Chloe Claire. During their reign for the day, they each decided to have a healthy snack. Chloe chose a banana and Claire chose carrots.

For lunch we decided to cook the rainbow pasta that Papa and I had brought home from the Harry and David store in Medford. Chloe loved it instantly, Claire needed a bit of coaxing to even taste it but then loved it as well.

Chris had some cereal for lunch but his main concern was that he needed to have a spoon in his own hand while being fed. Believe me, he will not stand for it any other way. At 6 1/2 months, he is not easily distracted once he puts his mind to something. He is a determined little fellow.

Some outdoor activity preceded a cake baking project. Below the girls were "birds" and were flying around their driveway.

The cake baking was fun. Claire and Chloe had grown the zucchini in their garden so that made this cake very special. They started by grating the zucchini, very carefully.

Then shared the stirring responsibility.....

Chloe can't resist tasting the batter....

And the finished cake turned out quite nice and quite tasty...it was a chocolate/orange zucchini cake. Noni (Paula's Mom) was there as well, and we were quite proud of the way the girls managed to follow directions and work diligently. As Chloe put it, "this is a family team project".

On Friday, Claire, Chloe, Chris and Paula traveled to Nonie's town to attend the county fair. I can't wait to hear the details from the Claire and Chloe next week. Paula reported that they had a wonderful time!

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you, today's text and pictures aligned themselves however they dropped and couldn't be adjusted. The software (or something) on this blog site needs some improvement and/or upgrades. My frustration level is high..... enjoy your new week!!!

Report on the Week

The girls' Nonie wasn't feeling very well for a few days and one of the projects Claire and Chloe did was to make her get well cards. She really enjoyed the cards when she arrived on Thursday, and we are happy to report she is feeling much better. We all enjoyed an outing to the park that day as well, however I forgot the camera. Swell, Grandma! We packed a picnic and enjoyed several hours at the swings, slides and walking the paths. Following the park visit we stopped for ice cream. What fun to watch the girls carefully make their choice of flavors and then eat every bite.
Story time with Papa... an everyday occurrence when he is there.

Chris had 3 shots on Friday so he snoozed a bit more than usual and needed some extra TLC.

Papa and I made a quick trip to Oregon this weekend to celebrate a beloved aunt's birthday. Most all of Papa's cousins were there and a good time was had by all. It is good to be home however.

On to the second week of August.....