Oh the places we'll go

3 is a magic number

2011-12-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yes folks, that's right. We now have THREE children! Our new addition joined us two days before her due date (which is today, Dec 4th). This was a bit of a surprise to me overall because the other two were multiple days past theirs. Of course I realize that each little one, and each arrival, are unique :) So here is the account of Miss Evelyn Amelia, our second girl, third baby, and most precious gift this December!

D(elivery)-day minus 1

On the evening of the first I began having mild contractions which normally wouldn't warrant much in my mind but considering lil miss Katie's very quick delivery I was a bit more sensitive. Even though they weren't very strong they were consistent and I worried that it might be just the beginning. We drove to the hospital to have them check but on the way the contractions lessened and all but stopped. Hooked up to the monitor I felt a bit foolish that I had misjudged my body and "wasted" everyone's time with my visit. Logan assured me over and over again that it's completely normal and made me promise not to feel bad :)

D-day

The next day the contractions continued and throughout morning got stronger. I was a little nervous to repeat the previous evening's "wasted" visit so I carefully kept track of the timing between contractions (almost ignoring the intensity) waiting for that "expected" five minutes apart timing the doctors suggest. We never got there but I knew by the level of pain I was in that it was time to go regardless. So at we headed off leaving our big kids behind with uncle Hayden to have their naps.

I was really hoping to have a proper admittance to the hospital this time but my shyness and desire to go "by the book" meant it was not to be. We arrived at labor and delivery only about 15 or 20 minutes before the blessed event. Luckily though they were able to wheel me to a room this time and avoid another triage delivery.

Welcome lil Miss Evelyn!

She arrived at 2:25pm weighing 7lbs 4oz and measuring 19 inches
and as Logan so expertly put it "practically perfect in every way"

Not too worse for wear I think ;)

Later in proper hospital attire

Flowers from Katie's god-mom, the incomparable Miss Amy,
arrived even before we left our delivery room!

I love this lily! To me it looks festive, almost Christmassy.

First bath

This was not her favorite life experience.

The poor little thing is not a fan of being cold.

Soon enough she warmed up though :)

Clean, cute, and cozy!

D-day +1

The next day started pretty miserable outside but inside we were warm and the morning went by smoothly.

First visitors

Our hospital stay was quite short so the only visitors were nurses and of course the "sibs"

Katie (the original Pointer sister, as Grampa calls her) was very excited to have a turn holding "ee-bee"(Evie)

Rowan is an amazing big brother to Katie and I know that he will be the same for Evie. Sweet, loving, and wonderful :)

Dad, of course, beaming :)

We are blessed to have my brother within only a couple hours drive of us and available to come and help. Thank you Hayden! You are a legend.

24 hours old

Discharge!

After her 24 hour labs came back good, the carseat was checked, and our paperwork was processed we were cleared to head home.

I love the look she's giving Logan here. She is so sweet.

We're outta here!

We we we so excited!

We arrived home to noses pressed against the window and smiles all around. We are very excited for this new chapter in our lives. I can't wait to get to know Evie more and I'm really looking forward to my kids getting bigger and being able to play all together and have big giant family adventures! For now though I'm content to watch the "big kids" smiles as they stare at their new baby sister . . . and make sure everyone else is looking also ;)

(P.S. I know the color is really odd on that video. . . I am pretty sure that the cuteness makes up for it though ;))

Giving thanks

2011-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have so many things that I am thankful for! Obviously this last week was "the week" to be mindful of all those things and so here (with photographic record!) are just a few of mine.

I am thankful for my road ready kids and dog :)

These three are quite the road warriors. We've logged quite a few miles north and south in the last few years. It'll be interesting going east for a change but I'm confidant that my amazing kids and great little dog with handle the travel well :)

I am thankful for good driving weather

(I am also thankful that our new camera takes good pictures from the car.)

I am thankful for my wonderful and crafty Mom :)

After pulling the carseat down from the attic and discovering mouse damage I was discouraged because I know handmade replacement covers are quite spendy. Luckily after a call to my Mom everything was okay. She said it wouldn't be a problem to recover it and we could get some fabric on black Friday. We did and she masterfully covered the offending holes while making it's even cuter and all Evie's :) Thank you Mom!! <3

I am thankful for Gar-bear
(and the other cousins!)
We've been lucky to have been so close to them and I'm glad that all of them like each other and get along... as much as any group of toddlers and young children can get along anyway ;)

(also for fun/silly setting on my camera. This one is called "magic frame")

I am thankful for my cute little girl who loves her Dad :)

I am thankful for Logan being home,
especially for his motivation, good attitude, smile, and clear head. (Late pregnancy and "baby brain" do not lend themselves to moving preparations).

I am also thankful for the great time we've had in this house and this town and for new adventures on the horizon, supportive friends and family all around. I am also thankful and amazed by the peace that I feel concerning everything coming in the next couple months.
God is good!

I am thankful for my sweet, goofy, big boy who likes to be silly :)
(and the "timer pictures" he takes)

And last but not least for the relative ease of this pregnancy. I know I am truly blessed to not only be healthy but to have any energy at all these last few weeks ;) This week I'm 39 weeks pregnant. The doctor reported this morning that Evelyn has "dropped" and that things are moving along. We could go into labor at any time but if this little girl follows previous patterns she'll wait another week or two then come out in a hurry!

I guess we'll just hurry up and wait... but we're good at that ;)

Big news

2011-11-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

No pictures yet, I still can't find that darn camera. We might have to cave in a buy a new one if we don't find it soon. I don't think I want to chance Evie arriving without proper photographic documentation! That's not the big news though. The big news is that Logan is home and he came with even bigger news...

We are moving

That's right. After six years of marriage and four years of parenting in the great northwest we're heading east... quite a ways east. We'll be moving to Fort Belvoir, Virginia by January 10th. This is our first move as a family and to be honest I'm a bit intimidated and emotional about the whole thing. Especially considering the holidays and Evelyn being due so soon. At the same time I have peace as I lean on the Lord. He's given me an amazing husband who is strong, confident, able, and so so supportive. Not to mention great kids who I know will be troopers and probably love exploring new places and making new friends.

So here we go. Off on our grand eastward adventure, I'm not sure how it will all work out but I do know that it will, we'll be together, and that God is good :)

back burner

2011-10-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

I had grand plans for a pumpkin patch blogpost but of course I am not home (where the pictures of our trip to the patch are) and I can't find my camera (where I have various other pictures that might be nice to share). So for the past while the blog has been on the back burner. I'm sad to say that it will continue to simmer in the background for a bit longer also.

Not that we aren't up to much. We've been traveling back and forth on I-5 from home to Portland and back and forth again for the past little while. Logan is off on a long trip for work and because I'm now about 34 weeks pregnant and not expecting to be able to talk to Logan until he's done (in a few weeks) I'm opting to be in more populated places than my house. We'll be in Portland through Rowan's 4th birthday, back home for some dr visits, then back down for my 26th birthday. After that a more southerly trip to Sisters... hopefully. Being fairly close to my due date that trip is a bit dependent on how I feel, how little miss Evelyn is doing, and the weather. I'm optimistic about myself and baby girl... we'll see about the weather.

So I feel I have to apologize that my infrequently updated blog will be even less frequently updated for another month or so. The good news is that by then I'll be able to post a giant belly picture and shortly thereafter some new family-of-5 photos! :) Until then you might catch us on my Mom's blog or perhaps my Mum-in-law's blog.

I hope all of you have a great October and most of November. This branch of the Godsiff clan will be on holiday until probably Thanksgiving.

Some September Fun

2011-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the adventures we've been on this month.

PUYALLUP STATE FAIR

I was pretty excited about the fair this year. We went a year or two ago with a friend and her daughter and Rowan had a great time. They even had a mountain boarding show! Which was just guys on mountain board riding ramps and doing some tricks (a mountain board is like a skateboard with giant tires). Rowan liked watching them. The only bummer this year came when we got our ticket cards. There was a big sign above the booth with the rules on it. Two of the biggest were "No pregnant women allowed on any rides" and "no riders under 2". So us girls had to miss out a bit :(

It's a good thing Katie thought that riding on Rowan's seat in the back of the stroller was super awesome ;) she seemed to like it about as much as a ride!

So it was a boys day on the rides. Kicking things off was the carousel.

Next was the rocket ride! A favorite from last time.

A new ride for us this year was a tiny little roller coaster with sweet cars and such to ride. Rowan picked the blue one (of course)

Then he rode it again on the motorcycle ("revving" it the whole way around!)

The kids controlled the ups and downs in their helicopters on this ride. Rowan's seemed like it never stopped bouncing!

Katie didn't seem to mind watching :)

Logan and Rowan went together on Billy the spinning bear. Ro was so excited that he was dancing in line. They got it spinning pretty good!

Finally we got to something Kates could do to. The animal barn! Unfortunately after patting a bunny she became very shy of every other animal and didn't want to pet them.

The hand washing station however was super fun!

After some funnel cake Rowan and Logan went on one last "ride".

Rowan liked it so much they even went a second time!
Next year will be better since Katie will be able to ride as well. I have a feeling our little bike loving girl will have a blast going up, down, and all around :) I'm happy though that this year she didn't know what she was missing.

Fun at the park!

The next day the kids and I hung out at the park for a while before running errands. I try to stay a good amount of time when we go so it's worth it. That day we stayed for 45 minutes! Longer than usual :)

They prepared with a popcorn snack for energy

They went all over the place! On the slides and the bars and the climbing things and through tunnels, etc. I didn't take a lot of photos though being that it was just them and me but I did manage some swingin' pics.

After seeing Rowan swinging on his tummy Katie just HAD to try. Too bad she couldn't reach the ground ;) oh well. She had fun anyway!

Back to the "Oh Golly Woods"

Last year for Mother's Day Logan treated me with a family walk in the Olallie state park which Rowan at the time deemed the "Oh Golly Woods". It's a lovely spot up near North Bend, WA. Last time I was two months post pregnant and it seemed a tad easier . . . ;) All in all it was a lot of fun and not too hard.

Thanks Uncle Evan and Aunty Crystal for use of the sweet baby backpack!

It took us almost an hour to get to the falls but it was worth it!

I had to put a few shots together to show you the whole thing and it really doesn't do it justice. It was GIGANTIC and beautiful! Truly awesome :)

Down the trail a bit. A rare candid shot of Mom (I'm usually behind the camera)

You can now see a bit of roundness to my belly. At 7 months pregnant I'm a little surprised that you can't see it all the time, from EVERY angle ;) but the light in this shot does show that it's starting to poke out pretty good.

A successful trip indeed!

Katie did eventually fall asleep also but only because it was past naptime. I can't wait until she can walk the whole way too. It's always great to get kids playing (or walking) themselves into a good nap :)

A lovely little visit

2011-09-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Logan's Grammum has lived in Anacortes, WA for many years. It's a couple hours north of us, or at least it is on a good day. We drove up yesterday for a little visit and due to holiday traffic it was over three hours before we arrived. But Katie napped for a bit and we had a trivia book and a new DVD for Rowan to help pass the time so it was okay. Once we were finally there we unloaded and hung out for a bit. After dinner we walked down to the little beach with Rowan, Katie, and Max. We left Henry the standard poodle to keep Grammum company since Katie had forgotten she'd ever seen him and was quite frightened of him.

I had left my regular camera back at home so I just made due with my cell phone camera. Here we are making our way the three blocks to the beach.

Made it!

Katie exploring safely behind a log with the ferry building in the background.

Getting a little braver, tossing sand...

...and braver still!
"Throwing" rocks with Rowan. (Katie doesn't really know how to throw yet, we're still working on the release part. But she still has fun!)

Dinner anyone?

Logan found this little guy and placed him on a piece of "beach glass" ;)

Not the best shot of myself but Katie looks cute and since I'm pregnant I'm trying to be more accepting of my image as I know it's a tad larger than normal! ;)

It was a beautiful evening!

Rowan showing off his "skateboard" he is rarely without an imaginary toy or weapon of some sort. Most often it's a skateboard or snowboard.

I asked Rowan what he was pointing at but he doesn't remember. (I think it was some birds.) He also asked me if I could "turn" the picture so we could just see what it was that he was looking at.

I laughed at first but maybe the kid is onto something. Maybe in the future cell phone cameras will take 360 degree pictures so that will be possible. Who knows?!

There aren't any pictures of the rest of the evening but we had a good time. The kids brushed their teeth and went off to bed. Grammum, Logan, and I watched CSI Miami then hit the sack. Somewhere around 3am Rowan joined Logan and I in bed but Katie slept soundly through the night. This morning we had delicious waffles, played around the house for a bit, then while Katie napped Logan provided Grammum with some slave labor while Rowan and I hit the beach again!

I let Ro wade into the water to throw rocks even father.

Katie had a good multi-hour nap and after a yummy lunch we packed up to hit the road. As we were heading out Katie was pointing and saying "dees" (please) towards Grammum's stair chair. Grammum sat down and I set Katie on her lap. At first Katie was nervous, I think she pictured Henry bounding wildly around the corner or something but he was outside on the deck. After a second she calmed down and enjoyed her ride down the stairs :)

Thanks Grammum for the wonderful time! We will see you soon I'm sure :)

Random Moments

2011-08-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've made the time to sit and blog that to really fill you in would take too long! So here are a bunch of random snapshots from our last month. I hope I can get back to blogging fairly regularly once summer and all of its activities and busyness dies down. We'll see though, with this growing belly I don't know if I'll have the energy! ;) I guess we'll wait see, but for now: Random Moments!

To earn money uncles Hayden and Cameron cleaned our roof of moss,
they did a great job!

Rowan entertains a slightly confused Piper

Uncle Ty and Ro search
for a lost rugby ball

Rowan has a blast in the yard

Uncle Cam consoles Katie after she got splashed by Rowan

Goofy girl

No-more-training-wheels training

sweetness

Random Moments from the Godsiff Reunion!

pretty flower seen in downtown Hood River

No one looking
except the sheep and elk...

My children are random...

Picture of a picture

Random moments with
Uncle Ty and Aunty Caroline!

gophers?

Katie and the ball game

Another random moment from the Oregon Zoo

The view -->

Ah, Portland :)

Random snack time moments

Random moment with Uncle Kiel

The boys got very silly once they realized Kiel's glasses were mirrored

Random cousin moments at our house

Rowan pulls security while "Grammarazzi" snaps away

Random moment from yesterday

I got Katie stickers because she loves to stick them all over her arms, face, and shirt... I had no idea it was even more fun to stick them on Dad while he tried to rest! ;)

Halfway!

2011-07-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will hit my "official" 20 week mark. Which means this pregnancy is halfway done! :) For the occasion I thought I'd spruce up the ol' blog and finally take a profile shot of the "bump".

20 weeks also means ultrasound, which for us means finding out the gender! :) I'm sure most everyone reading this already knows but just to be official,

it's a...

Yup, Rowan gets another sister! He wasn't 100% thrilled with that but I think he'll be alright. He's such an awesome brother and so good with babies I think that when she comes he'll be excited anyway. Katie of course is clueless and busy learning new words and figuring out ways to convince Logan to take her on bike rides as much as possible.

I don't know if our new little miss will be as enthusiastic about riding bikes, though there's a pretty good chance! From the pictures it seems there may be gymnastics in our future ;)

Not the best ultrasound picture ever but I just love the foot above the head!

I don't know how it'll be with 3 kiddos around here but I know we're all ready to welcome and love up this little chicky already! December will be a good month :)

Hello July!

2011-07-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

We had quite the first weekend of July. Logan had a 4-day and even though we didn't do too many things it seems like we did a lot, and it was fun!

Canada Day
July 1st we granted Rowan a wish that he's had for a long time, we went to Charlie's Safari! C.S. is an indoor play park of sorts. They've got half a dozen giant inflatable slides and bounce houses.
It's one of Rowan's most favorite places.

Last time we came Katie was a little small to really run amok
but not this time!

Rowan will shoot anything into a "basketball shoot" even blocks.

One more reason C.S. has earned Rowan's affection is the arcade. Katie enjoyed playing a bit but it was Rowan who really got into it.

> > >

This one is for Uncle Evan
and the other beavers in the family!

We love Charlie's Safari!!

After a good nap the kiddos got out and enjoyed our bit of warm weather playing some wet games in our yard.

Katie Katie little bucket lady

Home run!!

Forth

July!

We journeyed south for the 4th this year. Portland was also blessed with the lovely summer sun that weekend!

Just about every drawing cousin Wyatt did that day was accompanied with a little Katie scribble.

Later we headed over to my sister's in-law's house
for some food and fireworks.
She was nice enough to take a family picture for us.

Coco's Mom-in-law had some patriotic goldfish crackers for the kids. The little ones especially loved them!

These two crack me up!

After dinner we decided that the kids probably wouldn't last till dark and for my their sake (and ours, Logan had to work at 6 the next morning and I had an early OB appointment) we decided to bend the "rules" and do our sparklers and fireworks a bit early.

The uncles gathered the kids in the neighboring field

And the fun commenced!

Danika would start squealing whenever her sparkler started sparking, it was pretty funny!

Katie LOVED the sparklers!!

Rowan was a little nervous at first
but he got the hang of it in no time.

finally . . .

Let the show begin!

The pictures don't really do a good job showing how nice they were. Even though it was still light they were pretty cool. The kids were applauding most of them.

It got a little smokey

Cam is a good uncle

Garrett and Katie sort of lost interest before the end . . . sheesh, toddlers . . .

As soon as it was over Garrett was outta there! Showin off his bear crawl :)

I was snapping pictures of Logan tossing Katie when I got this one and said, "It looks like she's jumped off the roof!" which Rowan of course wanted to see and of course wanted to do also.

So here he is "jumping off the roof"

It was a great evening and a great 4th. Of course I can't celebrate the 4th and our freedom without a thought for those great men and women who have fought for that freedom and paid the ultimate price. We are indebted to them for their sacrifice.

I thank God that He has not only given us freedom in Jesus Christ but freedom in this great country. God bless America!

While the dad's crazy busy...

2011-06-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

. . . the Mom and kids go to Oregon!

While Logan was gone for training for a week then insanely busy the next week with more training the kids and I headed south to enjoy some Grandparent and cousin time!

June 14th was cousin Garrett's first birthday. I was all caught up in the festivities and didn't even grab my camera to take pictures of the fun but I did manage to sneak into the den after dark and capture my little guy.
He'd kept his pants dry all day and earned a show on the iPad. I don't know if he even made it to the end before he was out! Tucked up with his little glow sword and bracelets.

Soon after we packed up again and took off for

Sisters!

I think this was the first full day we were there. These kids know how to take advantage of ranch time! ;)

Rowan told his Gremmy that since he had a cowboy hat he must be a cowboy and should therefore ride a horse. This of course was music to Gremmy's ears and she gladly saddled up her sweet Peanut.

Rowan's first "solo" ride!

Katie is finally big enough and was more than happy to join in the rock throwing fun.

Some fence sittin' and fun in the cattle trailer
are just a taste of the good times ;)

We also enjoyed some quieter moments.

Rowan is a very good and eager helper.

Not to mention a champion bubble blower!

Fish Factory

One fine day Gremmy and I loaded the kiddos into the truck and went up to Camp Sherman and the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. Which Rowan called the "fish factory", not too far off there buddy ;)

Feeding the big ones. Rowan had some great reactions to all the splashing.

It must be hard to be so cute ALL the time!

How does she do it??

Rowan was "hiding" behind the long grass so the fish would swim closer to the bank.

The kids were diggin the fish food quarter machines!

After a snack to take the edge off the kids hunger we headed to the Camp Sherman store. Rowan and Gremmy headed in to get sandwiches while Katie and I played on the benches outside the post office.

By the time we finished it was naptime and Katie was pretty fussy. Rowan being the sweet big brother he is did his best to comfort her until we got back to the house.

After some rest she was feeling much better and busied herself moving pretty rocks from the bucket, to the tissue box, to the old milk carton, back to the tissue box, to the deck, to the old milk carton....

Duplo time!

Our last morning in Sisters the whole gang (sans Murphy) turned out to watch Gremmy move the goats. Rowan is a big fan of the goats, I think Rua is his favorite. Katie on the other hand seems to prefer to enjoy them from afar.

Back in Portland...

Katie joined Uncle Hayden for a "duet"

And after a long two weeks we got to see Logan again! If only for a minute as he and his buddy Marcus were on their way to a downhill mountain bike race on Mt Hood!

Race day we got to bring Uncle Hayden and cousin Wyatt.

I think the boys enjoyed their time in the woods, away from the "girl cousins"

I meant to snap a picture of Logan coming down but I forgot he was wearing long sleeve pads and he was going pretty fast when he got to us. He was halfway past before Marcus pointed him out.

On Marcus' run we were much more vigilant! Here he is on a tricky section of the course.

Rowan and Wyatt were great little spectators cheering for just about everyone (even after they'd ridden out of earshot!)

We really lucked out with the weather!

The clouds rolled in just after we packed up to leave.

Tough guys

They both finished but Marcus had a crash and hurt his shoulder pretty good. Not that you'd know it now, he's actually out riding today (only 4 days later)!

They didn't win any trophies but they both did great and are hoping to get another chance to race there on July 8th. This time I'll be sure to know what Logan is wearing before he comes down the hill!

Dedication

2011-06-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Two Saturdays ago we tried out the evening service at our church and were surprised to learn there was a baby dedication that night! I was excited when they said we could join in even if we weren't signed up because I've been wanting to do this sort of thing for a while!

We prayed with the pastor and the church for God's blessing on Katie and asked for His wisdom and guidance as we raise her. Of course we've prayed for this all along but it was a special thing to do so in front of and with the support and prayers of our church family.

I was also glad that I put her in her cute dress and pinafore that night ;)

Birthday and Father's Day

2011-06-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Logan's birthday was the 6th and next Sunday is Father's Day so I thought I'd honor both this week. Logan's schedule is kinda nuts around Father's Day so we actually won't see him on the day this year. With this in mind the kids and I gave Logan (a.k.a. Ironman) very "Dad themed" gifts this year. A trophy for being an awesome "home repair handyman", a gold medal for being #1 Dad in our hearts, a personally worded card from Rowan . . . I mean Spiderman ;), and finally the Family Commendation medal.

The medal is something I've been thinking about for a while. I wanted to let Logan know that the amazing sacrifice he makes doing what he does means the world to me and that it is seen and appreciated by many. Since I pretty much knew everyone else in the family would agree I went ahead and called it the Family Commendation medal :) The description on the back reads:

"The Family Commendation medal is presented with great love and abundant pride in recognition of meritorious service and uncommon valor. Given by those who wait, hope, think about, and pray for you everyday you selflessly serve our nation "far away". Even though we may not know the details of all your actions we do know they are great and that your heart is great. What you do is not normal, you are far above average.
You are our hero."

I am blessed, honored, and more than happy to be married to such a man. I can't describe how amazingly happy I am that he is the father of my children. I hope they know some day how lucky and blessed they are, for now I just pray that they get to enjoy their Dad as much as possible and that we won't take for granted the time we have.

Happy birthday and Father's Day Logan!

Memorial Day

2011-06-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

We, like many people, had a long weekend for the holiday so naturally we,
like many people, hit the road!

To Anacortes!
We didn't get to see Logan's Grammum because she's down south enjoying lovely central Oregon but she said we could stay in her house.

"Thanks Grammum!"

The next day we headed out again . . .

. . . to Deception Pass

It was a first time visit for the kids and I. We loved it.

After some rock throwing and picking . . .

. . . we managed to wrangle the crew for a photo

(Katie and Max haven't quite figured out the timer photos yet)

(He wasn't laughing but I think it looks like he might be laughing maniacally)

After a snack the boys found some rocks to scale.

Katie and Max really really wanted to join them for the climb but alas for the short folk

Luckily for them we did spy a path leading up and around the cliff. So in spite of my slight fear of heights we ventured up for a look around and some pictures.

On the way back to the car Katie Kates got a little distracted. I was just about to get her when Rowan came running back and said, "I'll get her Mom!"

Rowan to the rescue!!

I thought he was going to have to be rescued from this (gigantic!) distracting slug but right after I took this picture he jumped up, shouted, "Aaah! It's gonna get me!" and ran to the car.

We hopped in the car, again! Off to our next adventure . . .

. . . Fort Casey!
Logan's Grandad brought him here when he was 8. We've been meaning to get up there and finally did.

Rowan loved the big guns.

Logan was an excellent tour guide explaining how different things worked
and leading us down . . .

. . . and back up.

Rowan also tried his hand at explanations, he said,

"Some pigs used to be here . . ."

We explored around some more.

I believe this is the gun that Uncle Ty sat on when he visited in '94

This shot reminded me of the bunkers that the allies went up against 67 years ago today. It evokes some strong emotions to see here silent guns, daisies growing, and my little girl loving her Dad in peace. We live in debt of the brave men and women who have fought across the world for freedom.

This one makes me thinks of a toddler riding a T-rex

This is the Admiralty Head lighthouse. I was brave and ventured up with Rowan.

I was not as brave after seeing this sign at the bottom and by the time we got all the way up the steps I chickened out of going up the little ladder to the very top. Rowan and I came back down and I sent him up with Logan.

Another great sign for a mother with small children.
It reads "DANGEROUS DROP OFF" and had a picture
of a person slipping.

Rowan told us it said "Don't fall off the cliff"

We really enjoyed the park, we'll be back Fort Casey!

After all our fun at the park it was just a short drive to yet another adventure! Here is Rowan waiting for his very first ferry ride

Poor Katie fell asleep just before we drove aboard.

Rowan on the other hand was bright-eyed and eager to explore.

Before we knew it it was time to get back in the car and head back home.

It was a lovely drive.
(the kids slept just about the whole way)

Katie girl woke up when we were just about home. After a couple pieces of Red Vines she was all smiles but definitely ready to be out of the car.

Thus our adventures ended . . . for now. It was a good weekend.

Zoo fun and Mother's Day

2011-05-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

While Logan was off on one of a few business trips in the last month we went down to Portland to hang out with the cuzzies. One cloudy morning we headed up to the zoo. I thought there would be at least a bit of rain so we were ready!

Luckily it was only slightly damp and mostly cloudy :)

First stop
Sea Lions!

Wyatt is the master at making faces.
Here's his Sea Lion face
(special hair styling courtesy of a recently removed beanie)

His sisters are naturals as well :)
Quite the family gift! Here they are imitating the Orangutan in the picture
(if you can, definitely "click" this one bigger! They're so cute!)

Rowan and the little ones weren't so much into the monkey faces but they obliged me with a good group shot.

Rowan liked the sun bear.

Here's the pig face... or maybe a warthog... I can't really remember

Just after Wyatt was done I noticed Danika poised and ready so of course I had to take her picture!
She's so funny :)

Genevieve showin' off her mad Amazonian fish face skills

I really like that the zoo has little play areas around the place, it breaks up the walking nicely and this one is well contained :)

Rowan thought Wyatt's elephant face was pretty hillarious!

So of course he had to try too :)

The newest exhibit at the Oregon Zoo is the Predators of the Serengeti, it's pretty cool.
Wyatt was pretty fierce looking but brave Garrett didn't even flinch ;)

Rowan liked the lioness

Here's the gang, minus the babies (and myself of course)
chillin in a jeep headed into one of the exhibits.
so brave ;)

These phones are all around. You can pick up the receiver and listen to the various animal noises.

In the barn near the NW exhibit Wyatt showed us his goat face,

as well as another pig face.

Outside the barn the girls posed on the tractor. Well, they tried anyway.
Katie was too excited and busy "driving" to even look up and when I asked the other girls to "squish in" .... well I think I confused Danika.
Oh well, they're cute anyway ;)

speaking of cute!

The other kids ran ahead with Joylynn and Garrett while Courtney and I showed Katie around the Great NW.
(Charlie was there too he just didn't get into these pics)

She was a bit wary of the cougars...

The ducks were more approachable.

She also liked the salmon until she realized she was leaning too far and couldn't get back up.

After traveling all the way across the NW she was getting pretty tired.
I don't think she even knew there was a bear there.

I actually had a little bit of a hard time finding it myself
so I gave you a little help on the right there ;)

We actually went backwards up the trail,
so here we are at the "end", at the beginning.
Can you find Courtney and Charlie?

(special note here, I'm not that good, this picture of just about everyone looking and smiling is too good to be true. This is actually a composite of about 6 pictures. Unfortunately even having all those shots poor Garrett was quite ready to go and not be squished between his sisters and cousin anymore. I didn't have any with him smiling. I think it's pretty good overall :))

One more for the road...

here is his, quite remarkable, mountain goat face :)

Happy mother's day!

I hope all the mamas out there had a wonderful Mother's Day last week! I sure did. We got back from Portland to find Logan home earlier than expected. Not only home but having had cleaned the house and left beautiful flowers on the bedside table! :D

Sunday was fun, the kids and Logan got me a cute card, a new shirt, a couple pairs of socks, and a new Wii game: Cookin Mama! :) We just hung out at home and had fun.

We ended the day with baths, Katie got out first and while we were getting her in pjs Rowan did this

I asked him why he did, if the toys were doing something special up there or anything. He told me he'd just done it "for fun" :)

The next day while waiting for our special visit from Gremmy and Ben, Logan made Rowan a "race track" on the driveway.

After quite a bit of racing fun Rowan decided to check out a puddle and Katie found herself a cool new spot for snacking.

She's quite enamored with Rowie's bike. I would not be surprised if she is riding one of her own by this time next year. As soon as the length of her legs catches up with her enthusiasm ;)

I saw Rowan doing this and thought, "He probably shouldn't be doing that but it's super cute" so I took a picture before telling him it wasn't so good.

I love this one, he's such a "cool guy" ;)

Typical Godsiff days

2011-04-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Don't break the ice... but if you must, please wear proper eye protection.

Extreme children's games!

As I mentioned in the last post our car is in the shop. It got bad enough that we were advised strongly to get it towed.

The kids enjoyed watching the tow men. It's not everyday that a giant truck comes and takes your car away.

One of the reasons I've been so long in getting to the blog is because I was commissioned to paint one of Logan's buddy's bike helmets. The original request was for a pin up girl version of Jesse Ventura from the movie Predator. It was a little bit tough since I haven't done a whole lot of artwork lately but I think she came out okay. After that he thought a girl on the other side would look awesome. I cheated a bit with her copying the pose from a picture I found online but I came up with the gold shorts :)

So now you know at least some of why I was so slow getting to the "part 2" I had promised.

One morning, inspired by some unexpected sunshine and feeling artistic I snapped some "fancy" pictures in the backyard.

"Oh Mom! Please stop taking pictures and come inside!"

"Unless they're of me of course!" ;)
(The odd colors and lights are reflections, no editing done!)

I just love those toddler proportions! So stinkin cute!

On a weekend trip to Portland Rowan shows off his awesome big brother-ness hugging his sister on the porch swing.

More Projects

I had decided before Katie's birthday that I would make both she and Rowan quilts for their beds. Of course I put it off and put it off but once the helmet painting was finished I decided I was on a roll with projects and finally got the quilting supplies out and set to work.

Here's Katie sitting under her quilt on top of Rowan's. I made hers from snuggle blankies my Mom had sewn for her when she was tiny and a bit of new fabric that was the same as one blankie (which I think I lost in a parking lot)

Rowan's was made to match the colors of his room.
Katie is wearing one blue sock and a book on her head...

more silliness

Rowan came in while I was taking pictures and suggested we do some timer pictures.

Since it is officially spring now and Katie is able to actually get around in boots outside I've been trying to get the kids playing outside at least once a day provided it's not actively raining.

Katie thinks the trike is really cool. She often tries to push it along, which is what she was doing right before Rowan jumped on it here. So I made him stop and perched her up on the handle bars. I kept a hand on her for a while and she seemed pretty stable so I sternly told Rowan not to let go and backed up a few steps for a shot.

He really is a great big brother.

End of Winter: Part 2

2011-04-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Finally! Sorry about the delay, I didn't think it was going to be that hard to find time to sit and blog. But I have now so here we go! :)

Goodbye Lil' Blue, Hello Bruce Goose!

A few days before Katie's birthday Logan arranged a test drive for us to check out a new car. He liked it a lot and I thought it was pretty cool and seemed to be a good fit for us right now. It fits up to 7 people (a couple of them need to be small but that's what we've got!), cruise control, and a DVD player!

Anyway, long story short we got it and we liked it.

(Even longer story short it's now in the shop needing a new engine, apparently a refurbished low-mileage one is on the way. Cars can be super annoying...)

In happier news...

Katie turned one!

On her birthday she woke up and had pancakes and bananas for breakfast. I got a couple pictures of her making faces and/or not looking when my camera battery almost died. I charged it until her party at lunch time so that's when the good pictures start :)

cheese pizza and fruit salad

The gang

Godmom Amy lends a hand keeping Katie's hands from the flame while we sing happy birthday ;)

A little help from Rowan (and Claire) it was blown out

Carrot cake muffin, mmmmmm :)

They did eventually let Katie play with her singing picnic basket and play food, I promise! ;)

Later for dinner Katie enjoyed her pasta and red sauce a little too much...

So into the bath she went! Along with cousin Henry and a lot of bubbles.

Not too happy to stop playing.

Dinosaur jammied kids!
(you might have to look close but Katie's are dinos riding bikes and skating while Henry is rockin some construction dinos)

Little wiggle worms. After watching this I wonder how we ever get pictures of them looking at the camera!

All the fun really tuckered Rowan out.

On the "official" first day of spring (the 20th) we got together with the Leritzs for our last trip to Norma's burgers. A bittersweet time for sure. They recently moved to Alabama as Sam has a new job just across the state line in Georgia. The good news is for as long as he has it he will not deploy! :D So even though we miss them like crazy it's not all bad.

On your mark.... get set....

Go!

This was the only "group" shot I got that day. Maddy was already in the car so I didn't push for a real group shot of everyone. In hindsight I kinda wish I had.

Well there you go. The end of winter... or at least it was supposed to be. The weather hasn't gotten the memo yet here in NW Washington. We've seen a little sun but for the most part it's still chilly, wet, and gray *sigh* ah well, soon enough I'm sure. (Unless you're Sam and Amy and then you can just move away to sunshine and springtime ;) haha)

End of Winter: Part 1

2011-03-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

The first day of spring is fast approaching, my daffodils are almost blooming, and I can't wait for the sun to come back! We've been up to quite a bit these last few weeks of winter. We visited our family in Oregon and celebrated Katie's first birthday. Just a couple days ago she had her 1 year well child check up. She's 20lbs and 28in. Which is about 30th percentile, my favorite part is that she was able to stand on the scale for her weight check and stand against the wall for height :)

I've got so many pictures from vacation and such I'm going to have to do a two-part post.

Picking up where we left off last month, Goddy visited on his way back home from a visit to little cousin Piper. It wasn't a long stop, just long enough for a story :)

Not long after that we got some snow! We bought Katie a little snowsuit when we were on the coast. It was perfect timing.

Katie wasn't exactly mobile in her little suit but she was warm!

Rowan and I made a snowman with a crazy face and hair.

Later Logan came home, made a snow ramp, and taught Ro how to ride a snowskate. Katie just watched.

He was getting really good by the time it started getting dark. I had to go in and get dinner started so I left. This was the best video I got of him.

A little happier inside, Katie had some fun in the new playroom (our spare room that we recently cleaned out and moved most of the kids' toys into). I saw these bunny ears at Target and just had to get them. She likes wearing them, especially when I sing, "Oh you're so cute, ooooh Katie's so cute" ;)

On the 25th we started our vacation, shortly after that we headed to Portland. Poor Logan didn't feel well. Kindhearted Max generously volunteered to keep him company.

Meanwhile Uncle Hayden treated Rowan to a video game, something we've cut way back on at home. It's a little hard to see but Katie is holding an unplugged controller. We may be starting a bit young with that one ;)

While in Portland Katie got her very first MAX (lightrail train) ride! We headed downtown to see....

THE MOVERS!!!!

I saw an ad online for this concert a couple months ago and got four tickets right away. We've watched the show since it aired on the Disney channel and Rowan loves them. His favorite is Rich.

waiting for the show...

It was an awesome show. Mover Rich even came up to the balcony where Rowan got to give him a big hug!!

Outside the venue after the show. Rowan was still pretty jazzed :)

After another night in Portland we headed to Sisters to spend some time on the ranch.

Rowan was a little bummed there wasn't more snow but he and Logan were still able to "ambush" Goddy with a couple snowballs.

Rowie is such a sweet big brother!

Goddy and Gremmy were pretty much stuck at the ranch due to a couple of calves just born so we had an early birthday celebration one of the nights we were there. Katie was diggin opening her present from Goddy and Gremmy!

"Dad! Dad! Can you open it?!"

"Dad! Dad! Is it open? . . .
It is open now? Can I
see it? Please? Please? Please?"

"Oooooooooooooh"

I was under the weather for a couple days but I sent the camera along with the gang as they went on a little explore. Logan was carrying Katie in the front pack.

The next night Grandma Becky and Grandpa Rob joined us bearing (of course) gifts! This was the last shot I got. Once Rowan opened up his remote control police car, already cleverly supplied with batteries (Thank you Grandma Becky!) things were just far too exciting to pick up the camera.

Katie got a glowworm which is now in her crib and which she really likes! Even though that night the shiny wrapping paper was apparently much cooler ;)

The day after that Grandma Becky, Gremmy, Logan, and Rowan headed up to the snow for some fun. Rowan got sweet new goggles and was lookin like an extreme snow boy!

I think it's safe to say he's a fan of the snow ;)

All too soon it was time to leave so we packed the kids up for the long drive north.

I think next time we'll have to give him his pillow too.

Tune in next time for part 2 including Katie's birthday!

Happy first year Katie!

2011-03-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

I still need to get pictures from her birthday party on here but I did change the tickers :)

Happy birthday to our precious girl!

Wonderful Weekend & Crazy Cute Kids

2011-02-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Logan took me to the Oregon coast for a couple days for Valentine's Day and also for our first real alone time since he's gotten back . It was lovely! A bit wild, wet, and windy but that's what we love about the coast :) Here are a few pictures in no particular order.

The view to the north from our little lawn at the hotel

A deceptively calm tide pool near
Yaquina Bay lighthouse, it was VERY windy that day!

Fishing Rock State Park

Extremely windy day at Yaquina Bay, Logan was standing up pretty well but I was nearly knocked over a couple times and almost lost my hat! In hindsight I probably should have left the hat in the car.

Near Fishing Rock

In other news...
Rowan got a new big boy bed!!!
I'm working on a quilt for it with stripes, spots, stars, sharks, and tanks! Lots of colors and patterns. Fitting for our nutty little guy :)

He's certainly getting big. Since Logan has been home he's gotten a lot braver on his bike too. Even going out and doing "whips"

Lil Miss Katie is still small but is getting better at walking every day!
She'll be 1 on March 12th

Well, that's all for now. To see what my kids were up to while Logan and I were getting blown about at the coast tune into my Mom's blog and look for "Munchkinland & Valentine's Day" (the link is over there on the right)

Now I'm going to see what my boys are up to outside, there's a whole lot of giggling going on out there! ;)

All because two people fell in love....

2011-02-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Feeling inspired I dressed the kids up, sat them on the couch and gave them a couple red carnations. Within seconds Katie had snapped the head off hers and a moment later Rowan broke his in half, in half again, and then down to the head by "fightin" it. I love my kids :)

3 years and 11 months old respectively, silly, destructive, and adorable!

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Can't sleep

2011-02-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

Rowan dropped his pillow and woke up crying... now I can't sleep. Why is it that when you really want to sleep but can't the temperature of the room is just slightly off?

Retrospect

2011-01-10T10:31:00.001-08:00

I could be doing many things right now, I probably should be doing many of those many things rather than blogging but Katelyn just fell asleep for her nap and Rowan is playing and singing to himself happily. So even though there are many "to dos" I figure quite a few of those many can be done with baby on the hip, unlike blogging. So here I am. Inspired by the new year and Rowan's Godmom's "2010 in pictures" post I've decided to play copycat (I hope you don't mind Linds!!).

Here is a little glimpse into the Godsiff's adventures of 2010.
We had a great year of...

visiting our "goatey" friends,

meeting new friends from far away,

getting Dad back from far away,

welcoming our sweet little girl, Miss Katelyn Hanna!,

diggin holes,

roasting marshmellows with some of our most favorite friends,

home improving!,

foam noodle wars,

familiy hikin',

kickin' back,

posing for mom's camera,
(This one was for Logan's birthday. Katie sportin' one of Logan's favourite bands, Iron Maiden, on her tee and Rowan representin' with Ironman, a.k.a. his dad)

field trips! ,
(this was at an aviation museum close by)

bowling,
(for the first time!)

gettin the biggest jump Rowan's ever seen,

having fun on our vacation to Laramie, WY
to visit Rowan's godparents,

embarrassing the kids,

testing out Gremmy's new stroller,
(Rowan is a spitting image of Logan!)

picking pumpkins,
(and missin Dad)

going to Disney On Ice,

bein' in Aunty Courtney's wedding,
(Rowan was a ring bearer, I was the matron of honor, and Katie was just cute!)

enjoying holidays and new foods,

spending time with the "gang",

learning new skills,
(drinking from a sippy cup because she doesn't like bottles)

warmin Goddy's heart with a glance,

hangin' out with cousin Wyatt,

and sticking together through it all!!

We may not have the "dad doll" in this last shot but he's in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers daily! Can't wait until I get to post a new, REAL, family photo!! :)

We live a crazy life but we love it, I wouldn't trade this for anything!

busy season

2010-12-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Whew! It's been a while. I didn't realize how busy I would be these last couple months! I never thought adding one little girl to the mix would make life so busy. We've been having a pretty good time, all thing considered. Most recently we've been traipsing around Oregon visiting family. We just got back to Portland from Sisters where Rowan learned to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the "violin" (or the mallets from Don't Break The Ice if you want to be technical) and Katie finally got excited about bath time :)

Lil miss Katie's been perfecting her wave for about a month now and it seems like she's been standing holding on to things for at least that long too (maybe longer). She is becoming more adventurous and mobile every day! She can stand on her own and though she hasn't taken many unassisted steps I just know that one of these days (very soon!) she'll be toddling around here after her brother and cousins. My baby girl is growing so fast!!!

Rowan is still as sweet as can be... most of the time ;) He is definitely three years old! He's a good big brother. He loves Katie and often wants to hold, hug, and kiss her. He doesn't always want her to touch him or to share his toys but we're working on that ;)

I love my kids so much. I am truly blessed!! Here are a few photos of what we've been up to the last few months. I'm kinda bummed I couldn't keep up on the blog so I could've shown more and had more opportunity to show off my fantastic kids... ah well, c'est la vie :)

Rowan's first cape
at the Puyallup State Fair

Halloween parade time in Sisters
Katie was a Panda and Rowan was SUPER ROWAN! :)

Rowan's 3rd birthday

My 25th birthday
(at the nail salon with my Mom)

Aunty Coco's wedding
Rowan was a ringbearer and I was Matron-of-Honor

Katie was just cute

Thanksgiving in Portland

Katie's bib said "I'm thankful for my Daddy" :)

and finally, our most recent trip to Sisters!
the weather began a little mild but we got to see and play in some snow and I understand they've now got even more!
I think our travel timing was spot on! :)

A new season

2010-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

Oh man, so much going on. Well not really that much, just many many many projects, to-dos, concerns, and such running through my mind lately. Logan deployed and though I expected it would be different with two kids adjusting to semi-single parenting with a husband away at war really threw me for a loop! My motto right now is "Keep calm, carry on, and smile", it's tough but I've got a plan... sort of... and I've got support for sure!

So, I've finally gotten through all my vacation pictures and have narrowed them down to a mere 400 that I will put into two photos albums. I'm not sure yet if that's still too many but it's less than half of what I started with. We'll see I guess...

Anyway, I picked a small sample of our fantastic adventure :) The three photos that have all four of us in them and a few others just for fun!

Heading out from Portland to Sisters at the beginning of the trip.

Left: What most of the west looked like, beautiful! :)
Right: My 3 brothers, 4 sisters, me, and my nephew Henry (not looking)

On the porch swing of our KOA kabin in Mountain Home, ID
(I kinda wish we could have stayed there longer, Rowan really liked it)

Left:One of Rowan's favorite things! (I'm so glad we got him that suit)
Right:What Logan looked like through most of the west ;)

In Brandon and Lindsey's backyard in Laramie, WY

Left: Katie showing off her chewing talents much to the amusement of Lindsey :)
Right: Rowan being sweet, watching TV in a hotel in Boise, ID with his arm "around" Logan's shoulders

Maybe I'll be able to choose a few more and make another trip post later. Hopefully under a month this time ;)

family photos

2010-08-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

whew! We're home but I still have to get through all the pictures I took! (about 2000 in all) maybe in the next little while I'll get a couple posts up. Bear with me, a few tough months ahead. I can't promise much.

Here's something I do have. Our first official family photos. A friend of mine from back in my Applebees days is starting out as a photographer and we commissioned her skills at a park not too far from where I grew up.

I am so blessed :)

Sunny days

2010-07-28T22:36:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a crazy life we've been leading. It's been quite a couple months and I've got way too many photos. I finally managed to pick a few from the vast sea (I could probably make at least three whole scrapbooks from the lot of them!) I hope it isn't too much in one go. You may want to get yourself a beverage and make yourself comfortable ;) Here we go!

SISTERS

At the end of June Logan had a few really busy days in a row so the kids and I (along with Aunty Coco) headed down for a little Goddy and Gremmy time in Sisters.

I think he won the race

Stopping over in Portland we took advantage of the great park by Grampa and Gramma's house and its fountains.

Back up north we checked out a park in Centralia. Logan and Rowan are being "maori" over there and Rowie is in "the jungle room" (from an Imagination Movers song)

4 months old! :D

We've been blessed with some good sunny days while being spared the incredible heat of last year. Logan made Rowan a "water slide" which got him going a little fast for his taste and he preferred to just jump in and out of the wading pool. I've got to add concerning the photo on the right, I just love my bare baby! Looking at this pic just makes me want to snuggle her!

OLYMPIC FLIGHT MUSEUM

On a recent search online for something to do in our area I found the Olympic Flight Museum. Just a little place down towards Tumwater with some vintage war airplanes and helicopters. The highlight of the visit was the old helicopter out back that you can climb in and "fly".

Rowan loved it!

They do have a posted rule against running. As I was lining this shot up he was walking and by the time the shutter clicked, well, you can see how fast a little boy goes from zero to sixty ;)

I love that pant leg is outside his boot
while the other is tucked up
on top :)

July 24th, a good day!

Happy birthday to Grammum!!

We got to visit Logan's Grammum for her birthday. It was a lot of fun. We hung out, played with the dogs, watched her new DVD of Celtic Thunder ;) went out for dinner and Rowan's first bowling game!

Before every shot he (or anyone else) took he'd say loudly, "One, two, three, go!"

The cheering section was top notch!

Both the kids did really well!

Grammum's garden is so lovely!

Yes, it's been a busy couple months. And in just a few days we embark on an even busier time, our incredible journey. We're going to be on holiday for two weeks and decided that it would be a lot of fun to roadtrip across the west to visit some friends out that way. I'm not sure exactly how crazy we are but I'm pretty sure it's a lot, time will tell. We head down to Portland on Saturday then on to Sisters for a couple days. After that our route takes us along across OR and southern ID, after a dip into northern UT, we cut across WY, down into CO, back into WY, up to Boise in ID, finally we'll swing in to see my sister and her family in Walla Walla, WA before winding up to highway 90, onto I-5 and home.

I have a feeling a lot of the pictures in my
next post will look like this ;)
Until then!

new look

2010-07-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

My other background said it was going to disappear so I looked around and found a new one :) I like it. I tried to get a bunch of pictures together for a grand new-look-bunch-of-photos blogpost but it's taken me too long and now it's late and I am a little under the weather. So my apologies but no new photos tonight. I need to go to sleep.

Maybe tomorrow.

Rowanism

2010-06-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

Rowan is a funny little chap. He makes us laugh all the time. One of those moments just happened...

Rowan and Logan were just listening to "Hey Baby" (by Bruce Channel) in the kitchen. Rowan asked Logan what the song was called, he didn't know and to go ask me. Rowan asked me, I actually couldn't remember so I said it's "Be My Girl" after a short conversation with me he went back. Logan asked the name of the song and after a little mumbling Rowan reported the name of the song was "I Love My Mother".

Some more sun, hooray!

2010-06-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

We didn't get up to much at all today so I'm just gonna post pics from Sunday. We had some good fun on Sunday :)

Some more noodle fun!

We actually went out and bought a few more noodles so we could have large, epic, safe battles :) This one lasted quite a while.

Splashy boys

Rowan loves loves LOVES the pool. He's just going to be in heaven this summer when it's warm enough to swim more than two days in a row. Splashing is just about his favorite thing.

Logan enjoys it too ;)

I'm afraid before long I am going to have to take swimming lessons. I never had the fondness for water that Rowan has already so I never properly learned how to swim. But if I don't learn I think I'd have to keep him away from opportunities for fun and exercise. And that just wouldn't be fair to the little guy. Besides, I'll take any chance I get to wear my boy out! :D

I don't know if Katie will like the water as much as her brother but one thing I'm fairly certain of is that she will be as happy and talkative as he is! She is such a smiley, giggly girl! And I love it!!

Two nights in a row we got to have a fire in our firepit. The first night was after Rowan's bedtime so he didn't get to enjoy it but we did the second early so he could hang out with us too.

Maybe we should have done it even earlier?
Or maybe campfires just aren't that interesting
to an active 2 year old?

Haha, really he was just getting sleepy.

It wasn't as warm today and isn't forecasted to be very warm again until the weekend but it should be nice enough to play outside. Which is good enough for me! :)

Fun with noodles

2010-06-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last week my younger brothers finished school for the year. This week they are hanging out with us enjoying what should be a week of pretty good weather. If the next 6 days are anything like today it'll be great! Today was sunny, warm, and wonderful!

After we'd done our food shopping for the week I realized that I'd forgotten bug spray so I went back while the guys picked up some Thai food for dinner. Near the bug spray I found a couple of pool noodles. I thought they'd be fantastic for Rowan. Something he can safely "fight" people with :)

He was pretty excited by them.

Epic battles ensued! Fun, safe battles :)

They also serve well as elephant trunks

This photo's a little blurry but I thought it was a cool shot.

I was trying to get a picture of the water lit by the sun.

Even though this didn't turn out like I wanted I think it's kinda cool. It was mostly dumb luck. I couldn't even really see the screen because the sun was in my face!

I can't promise daily updates while the boys are here but I'll try to document the fun in somewhat timely manner :)

A month in the life of us

2010-06-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

Okay! Here we go. It's been a month and we've been up to quite a bit. We got a new back door which Logan and my dad installed (and it's amazing!), Rowan got a baby drum set, took a short trip to Sisters, went on our first family hike with Katie, bought a sprinkler toy for Ro, took Rowan on his first MAX train ride in Portland, saw the new dinosaur exhibit at the Oregon Zoo, celebrated Logan's birthday, Goddy spent the night, and Rowan learned how to shoot an arrow!

DOORS

We have bats living behind our gutter,
they come out at dusk or when we grill.

Say hello to my little friend

Fun times at the park :D

New drums!

IN SISTERS

Goddy and Gremmy's house

OLALLIE STATE PARK HIKE
(a.k.a. our walk in the "Oh Golly Woods")

SPRINKLER TOY
(oh and Logan broke his arm in a mountain bike accident)

MAX TRAIN

Hanging out

OREGON ZOO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LOGAN!

(Since we're a day behind NZ we celebrated on June 5th, his "real" birthday, as well as the 6th, his "calendar" birthday)

Rowan made a birthday cake from a crayon and viewmaster slides :)

birthday cake "pistol"

Rowan got, ready, set and ran off but got distracted by a newspaper stand and ended up having to catch up.

Dad's little iron man and maiden ;)

(Rowan actually says Iron Man is his dad)

Katie is getting to be super giggly.

Rowan has been wanting a bow and arrows so Logan made him a bow from a stick and a shoelace. They went out yesterday with some of my arrows and Logan helped Rowan take a couple of shots at my deer target. Rowan is actually a surprisingly natural archer! He was only about 15 feet away but he was hitting it and his form is pretty darn good!

My little sunshines

2010-05-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

This isn't a particularly flattering photo of either Rowan or Katelyn but I just love it!
It makes me smile.

A dose of Katie cuteness

2010-05-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Pause and remember

2010-04-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Anzac day, it's sort of memorial day for New Zealand and Australia. It's a day understandably close to Logan's heart. Yesterday he took down his POW MIA flag and put up the New Zealand flag because NZ is just about a day ahead of us.

I love how proud New Zealanders are of their boys who serve and defend. When we visited in the summer of '08 I saw a war memorial in almost every town we went through (I slept through a few). This was one of my favorites, it was in Dannevirke.

This wall was in a memorial park in Hamilton. One half was names from WWI and the other was the names from WWII.
I think this last shot speaks to Logan as a father. His heart is to teach our children to always remember and honor those who have fought and died for freedom.

Super fantastic fun family visit!

2010-04-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

For most of the past week my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew have been visiting us. They left yesterday afternoon. I have many pictures from their visit but haven't found the time to sit and organize them into a nice post yet. Here's a snippet of their time here, a few pictures I did manage to choose from the virtual piles of snapshots. The day they arrived we had the Hams over also. Bob, Lalita, and Simon are good friends and good company :) Rowan was pretty excited to see them, before they arrived he was talking (and talking and talking) about it. The best quote was, "Rowan see Simon, Bob, and Larry". He of course confused "Bob and Lalita" with the talking, singing, bouncing duo of "Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber" from one of his favorite DVD series, Veggietales.

They turned out not to be dancing veggies but no one didn't seem to mind. We had a great time anyway.

Rowan and Simon played really well together. They shared like champs as they played tee ball and other games.

Rowan can't quite get his "gremmy hat" on by himself so it often looks a bit... wonky. Adorable but wonky.

Katie handled all the visitors as she usually does. With grace, poise, and a nap :)

More pictures to come! It may be take a day or two but they'll come :)

He's so big!

2010-04-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Rowan hasn't gotten very many haircuts but when he does he looks like such a big boy! I can't believe how huge he feels, especially after holding Katie for a while ;)

The other day he decided he didn't want to wait for Logan to come home from work so he dumped out five of his toy bins and made a "train". He sat in the big one (presumably the engine), blew me a kiss, and told me he was going to see Dad at work.

Just before I grabbed the camera he announced, "Mom, dis twain's weavin!"

He didn't get too far in the toy bin train but as luck would have it, after some lunch and a nap, Dad came to him. Rowan wasn't the only one to get a haircut, the same day Logan and Rowan dropped Max off at the groomer and Logan got a bit of a trim up also. Here are the handsome devils romping around, as handsome devils will do. At least these ones anyway ;)

It seemed to end peacefully but if I remember correctly after realizing the book Rowan brought over was The Night Before Christmas Logan launched into a tickle attack.

Ah boys... :)

Family of four for a fortnight

2010-03-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks. It hasn't gone fast or slow, it's just been good. Logan got paternity leave so I got to rest a lot the first week and sort of ease into being on my own with the kids. Which was AMAZING! I am soooo blessed!! We even got to go out to our local state park and to the zoo. I'm bummed that he couldn't have a longer little vacation but I guess that's always the way with holidays :)
We went to Katelyn's two week check-up this morning and pretty much got two thumbs up. The doc said she looks healthy and that the stuffiness we were worried might have been a cold is way more likely just newborn stuffiness. At birth little miss was 8lbs 2oz and just about 20in long, today she weighed in at 8lbs 14oz and measured 20.5 inches long.

She sure is a cutie :)

After the appointment we went to the lab to get Katie's heel pricked. She was not too happy but Rowan was right there patting and petting her head saying, "It's okay Katie" over and over. It was really sweet. Beforehand he kept asking the lab tech "Rowan watch Katie get a poke?" he's a good brother :) Once that was done we went outside to walk around a bit because the weather was lovely.
Some of Rowan's favorite things to do at the hospital are to look at the swans, ducks, and geese as well as the fish and the fountains out in the small lake there. But I think his very favorite these days is playing Poohsticks. Logan and he played it a couple times during some of my various prenatal appointments. Today was my first time, it was a good day for it.

By the time we finished a few rounds Katie was hungry so I found a bench and fed her (hooray for breastfeeding :D another huuuge blessing!). Rowan wandered and played until I was done then we posed for some mama and kids pictures. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to take our picture functionally and they look pretty good too!

I am so so happy to have two beautiful, healthy children!
These pictures make me think of part of I Could Sing of Your Love Forever (as we used to sing back at my old church)

Oh I feel like dancing, it's foolishness I know...
and I have so much to sing about
and I have so much to dance about
and I have so much to shout about
and I have so much sooo much

I thank God constantly for the rich and abundant blessings that He's given me. I thank Him even more that my blessings, my amazing husband and wonderful children, are not just for me. I get to share with my parents, Logan's parents, our kids' godparents, and all the rest of our family and friends!!

Welcome to the world little one

2010-03-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

The first week of baby seems to go fast and slow. I'm learning new things and remembering things I'd forgotten from Rowan's early days. One thing is certain, we looooove our little girl and are beyond excited and happy that she's finally out of "hiding" :) We got a really cute bouquet when we were in the hospital from Katie's godmom. Daffodils are among my favorite spring flowers, this one seems to be heralding the arrival of our lil' miss.

Announcing with overwhelming joy and a beaming sense of happiness and pride
Katelyn Hanna Godsiff!

beauty eh?

I won't go into any "TMI" details but for those who are curious here's a bit of a summary of how it all went down:

Well, her due "date" was March 4th but obviously she was not keen on that. We waiting semi-patiently for about a week until my doctor scheduled an induction for Saturday the 13th. Obviously this was not meant to be. About 1:30AM on the 12th I felt the first strong contractions but not being able to time them to 5 minutes apart for an hour (the timing that labor and delivery usually asks you to wait for before calling and coming into the hospital) I decided to just take a warm shower and wait. After running out of hot water I got out and feeling light headed called into L & D to ask advice. They advised that we head in after judging by the sound of my voice that these were probably active labor contractions. That was about 3:15AM

I woke Logan up and told him we had to go. As we got ready the contractions became very strong and after a quick ride to the hospital we entered at the ER (approx arrival time was 3:45). I was wheeled upstairs unsure if I could walk all the way to the triage area for L & D. Just about the time I got onto a bed and started to be evaluated my water broke and I felt very strongly that I had to push. About two minutes and one and a half pushes later she was born. 3:56AM.

I felt shell shocked to say the least. I was prepared for a couple hours in the hospital and instead it was a matter of minutes. After getting settled in our mother baby suite, which amazingly we got to ourselves! I was able to rest and relax and just enjoy my sweet little girl.

After a little while Logan went home and rested himself before coming in with Hayden and Rowan to meet lil miss Katie.

Thank you Hayden for being our first family-of-four photographer!

The first day was uneventful. The boys were my only visitors due to many of my friends either being out of town or having little ones of their own with sniffles and coughs.

Here's another shot of the bouquet from Amy. Pretty cute.

The next morning I woke up to sunshine. It was a good day :)

Heading home! I think this photo really emphasizes the size difference between father and newborn daughter. I told him he looks like an ogre ;)

As you can see Katie is fitting in quite nicely around here :) Rowan is really good big brother. He loves her when she's awake, mostly ignores her when she's asleep, and likes to hug and kiss her.

Indeed she's a wonderful, adorable, sweet, and precious addition to our family. I'm a little nervous for Logan to start back at work and to be on my own with these two but I'm confident that I have the mom tools and skills to at least make it until lunchtime tomorrow ;) after that it's all grace.

Working together already ;) Today is my sister "Aunty" Krystle's 23rd birthday, Rowan wasn't completely happy to come in from playing with sticks outside for the photo but was a good sport (and was actually excited about sending birthday wishes). He even helped me with the signs. His lines were really light and hard to see on the computer. I figure it's the thought that counts :)

We love you Krystle, happy birthday again. And we love you Katie!! Happy first week of life!

a little change

2010-03-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

I decided my blog needed a bit of a remodel. My favorite things are the new colors and Rowan's new birthday/age counter thing :)

The other day we were shopping around Target and he kept roaring. I think he was talking about a toy but I'm not sure. Sometimes he just likes to roar... I think it's super cute. It makes me smile :)

Due date

2010-03-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ah the infamous due date.
Yes, Katelyn is due today, March 4th 2010.

I really don't think we'll meet her today. It's already afternoon and I haven't had any symptoms or signs of impending labor. It doesn't bother me really. Sure I would like to have her in my arms instead of in my belly but at the same time I know she's safe, warm, and being very well cared for in there.

Rowan came 5 days "late", that is he was born 5 days after his due date. Of course he wasn't actually late for anything, he was right on time. The "due" date is simply the midpoint between 38 and 42 weeks, which is when the baby is deemed "full term" and is expected to arrive. With that in mind I feel pretty prepared for another week of pregnant knowing it could actually be anywhere from one day to two weeks before she graces us with her presence. I think after about a fortnight the doctors will try to help things along so at least I have that to look forward to. I know she'll be born in March :)

I can't wait to flood this blog with pictures of a little sweetheart being loved on by family and friends. I'm especially excited to have the first shots of Katie and her daddy and also of Rowan holding her. Which he's been talking about for a couple weeks now ;) I'm sure to everyone else the days between now and her arrival will seem like no time at all. For me the last one or two have gone by kinda slow. I really hope I can come up with ways for the next few to go by a little quicker.

Good times!

2010-02-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

It's been really nice to be home again. Here are some of the things Rowan's been up to since we've been back.

Playing with his buddy Carson

< Dancing to music on the laptop
(mostly Imagination Movers, I think that's what was on here)

Playing in his train house and tunnel!

and probably my favorite...

Playing with Dad!

Rowan's favorite songs on the Guitar Hero, as he calls them, are "wot woll myyyy pardy day" and "bess fot". Which are actually Rock and Roll All Nite and Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Often when he wants to play the game with you he'll just ask for one or both of those songs :)

Rowan really likes to take pictures and have pictures taken of him... and Logan is just goofy ;)I love having both my boys together again. Especially at bathtime! Rowan loves bathtime with dad (except for hair washing of course) and Dad is way better at sitting at the side of the tub than Mama these days ;)

See? Kneeling and bending over to scrub little toes and play with squirty toys is definitely hindered by little miss Katelyn :) But we don't mind that much. She's due to arrive in about two weeks. I'm super excited, I can't wait to see her and hold her!
Though I can't deny that I've felt that familiar "so close yet so far" feeling that just about every mother feels at the end of pregnancy. I know she'll be here soon and that as soon as our new carseat arrives in the mail we'll be all ready! Can't leave the hospital without one you know.

Update and photos

2010-01-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

Well it's been another long time hasn't it? Holidays, deployment, and Rowan's baby sister (growing everyday) have all played a part in my lack of updates but rest assured we're doing fine. We just had a wonderful couple weeks down in Sisters, OR with Logan's parents and are now back in Portland again for a few days before we head home! My 36 week check up is Feb 1st and though I would love to spend even longer on holiday I know that it's best that we get back home for that and back into a routine before this little girl comes. We've got about 5 weeks before her due date and I think Rowan really needs that time to settle back into normal life so we can start into sibling-hood on our best foot :)

Here's are a bunch of photos from our adventures in central Oregon and some belated Christmas photos also!

Christmas in Portland! :D

Central Oregon trip! :D
(mixed up on purpose, there were so many photos
I just grabbed a sample and didn't really bother with chronology)

We love going to Sisters!
Can't wait until our next visit :)

Speaking of which, I propose we should come up with some way to link our house with both Rowan's grandparents' houses! Maybe tunnels? Maybe we get a giant lasso and Paul Bunyun to rope Lacey/Ft Lewis and pull them closer to Oregon? In any case I feel we should be closer so visits can be more frequent! ;)

Or perhaps having to travel to see our loved ones makes our visits all the more special :) Thank you everyone; Grampa and Gramma, aunties, uncles, and Goddy and Gremmy for being so wonderful and making this time not just bearable but fun and enjoyable! We love our family!!! :D Hopefully this next short while before Katelyn is born will go smoothly and everyone will be continue to be healthy and strong!

If I don't keep up well before then definitely be on the look out for more photos in early March ;D

Photo catch up

2009-12-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

Loooooooooooong time no post. Woops, I'm sure I could come up with a laundry list of reasons but I think this time I'll just shrug my shoulders and fill you in. In the last month and a half we've visited Sisters,OR, Anacortes,WA, and Portland,OR. Then we back home for a bit, Logan left, and now we're back in Portland for Christmas and through the new year. We got to see nearly all of Logan's side of the family as we came together for his Grandad Walt's memorial service. A bittersweet reunion but I am glad that we got to hang out with normally far-flung family. I'm especially happy that Logan got to be there.

It's been a while so I've got quite a few photos to share. I've made them small but I'm pretty sure if you click on them you can see the larger version.

We don't get to stay with Logan's parents as much as we'd like but when we do Rowan really likes visiting the ranch. I was happy for a sunny morning to run around, even if it was chilly.

Rowan's favorite horse. He calls her "Kah" I can't remember how to spell her name but it sounds like Tah-ni-kah

Rowan likes just about all animals. Here's Goddy introducing Rowan to a friendly black barn cat.

And here Rowan is riding Misty with Gremmy. It was only his second ride but he was really comfortable! I'm not sure if Rowan or Gremmy enjoyed it more ;)

After the service in Anacortes Rowan and Uncle Ty took advantage of the large reception room for some bonding time :)

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner in Portland :)
He liked the turkey and bread rolls but I think the olives were favorite.

Rowan and I met up with the guys at the park after their bike ride and followed them home (Hayden is up ahead past the hedges)

Rowan marveling at his Dadad's awesomeness :D

Here's a good chunk of the gang that went to zoolights. I think we were looking at elk.

Rowan got his own little seat on the train, he loved it!

Of course I had to get a picture of the southern hemisphere friends, I like the fat little kiwi bird best :)

While doing our Christmas card photo shoot I was able to wrangle Rowan in for a sort of sibling photo :) He also gave her a kiss but it was too fast for a good picture.

I'm really happy that Logan was able to cut down a tree with Rowan this year! I don't know if Rowan will remember it but I will always push for it if we can :)

Getting the stand on... in hindsight Rowan probably shouldn't have been barefoot. Ah well, he still has all his toes ;)

Rowan helped put many of the ornaments on the tree. He did a really good job but it was tough trying to teach him that once they're on you're just supposed to look at them.

I saw this one at hallmark and just had to have it. It was sort of my Christmas resolution that even though we have to be minus one this year we were still going to have good times and be happy. It's sparkly and fun and it makes me smile.

After we finished the tree Logan put on Rowie's Imagination Movers CD and they danced :) I wish I'd gotten a video, it was super cute.

As an early anniversary celebration we went out to dinner in Olympia. Logan set up this timer shot and I love it :)

Now we're in Portland enjoying the company of family and friends through the holidays. We'll be here until my next ob appointment and then we'll be off to Sisters again!

Rowan looooves his cousin "baby Heenwee" (Henry)

I hope you enjoyed the many photos and feel suitably "updated" ;)
Sorry to have kept everyone waiting. Hopefully it won't be quite as long until the next post.

Birthday weekend surprise!

2009-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Last year Logan gave me a fun and sparkly night on the town in Portland for my birthday. This year he wouldn't tell me where we were going until we were headed there. I like surprises :)

The mystery destination was none other than
SEASIDE!!

Our visit was slightly less sunny than this postcard,
as you tend to get in November.

The biggest (and really the only) bummer of the trip was that I forgot my camera. Fortunately my dad helped me find out that my camera phone actually has a decent setting on it! I didn't get a lot of photos and I wasn't sure how the pics would turn out since the screen is so small so I wasn't sure any would be good. I was pleasantly surprised at how they turned out and I'm happy to have some photographic memories to go with my real ones :)

We arrived at lunchtime and stopped at a cozy and casual restaurant called Norma's. Which was fantastic!! We will definitely go back if we get the chance! The apple cider was as lovely as the table with its copper top and fall decorations :)

The view from our room (quite stormy and cold). The waves looked amazing!

Our room, with a fireplace and jacuzzi! Oh yes, a jacuzzi :D

This looks black and white but it wasn't meant to be. I still like it :)

I was hard to get the camera to balance between dark and light. Which forced/inspired a bit of creativity with sunset shots :)

Finally a bit of nice weather but still breezy and cold so this is again from the hotel room.

23 weeks pregnant, 24 years old, standing in an empty jacuzzi... sounds about right eh? ;)

What can I say about my man? He is beyond wonderful and handsome to boot!
A girl couldn't ask for more!

The lovely decor at the PigN'Pancake where we shared a suitably seafood-y breakfast of eggs benedict with crab instead of ham. Delicious!

My last "view" shot from the promenade

It was such a great weekend, a wonderful ending to my "birthday week" I feel suitably spoiled. Haha just kidding! I really feel very blessed and happy :D
Good job everyone who knew for keeping it a secret!!

Two!!

2009-11-01T20:44:00.001-08:00

Our little man just got officially bigger! Rowan Charles Newton is TWO YEARS OLD TODAY!! :D
Just for fun here's a little comparison of 2008 and 2009 :)

2008

2009

One year old Ewok, because I'm a Star Wars nerd

Two year old puppy dog because this year he really likes a certain book called "Snuggle Puppy".

One year old attempting to stab a blueberry

Two year old successfully stabbing multiple pieces of pancake. I believe his max was 3 which was about double what looked like should fit in his mouth ;)

One year old chillin with his soccer ball

Two year old gettin ready to ride down a ramp of pallets on his plastic tricycle with his new pads (Thanks godparents! :D)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROWIE!!

We got off to a bit of an early start because of daylight savings so Rowan came and hung out in our bed watching cartoons for a while. After everyone was up we went out to breakfast at the Shipwreck Cafe where we strategically opened the first gift, a viewmaster. Afterward we came home and opened most of his other presents and played a bit before a nap.

He didn't open all his other gifts before his nap because he was too enamored with all the balloons we'd blown up for him. If one even moved in his peripheral vision he'd be up and after it in a flash! A lot of kids seem to enjoy gift boxes more than their gifts, it seems ours is all about the decorations ;)

Trying to blow up a balloon but only getting it very wet and slobbery :P

Sporting his new sweater from Gremmy :)

After a good rest we headed out again for a late lunch/early dinner at Red Robin. I was bummed that the little arcade they have was full when we wanted to play and empty when it was time to eat :P oh well. We wore hats, Rowan had a smoothie and a bit of spaghetti, he got two balloons, and a small sundae!

There were a couple things we didn't do that I kinda wanted to cause I'm quite pregnant, a little bit crazy, and not a good planner this time around. But at the end of the day I find myself taking stock and counting my blessings. One year later our Rowan is bigger, faster, funnier, more opinionated, louder, and talks a LOT more. I'm so happy and thankful that the Lord blessed us with this little boy!

We could never ask for more and yet as I type I'm being reminded with kicks and squirms that before long we're going to get it. I know Rowan will be a good big brother and I'm excited for our family to expand but I have loved and treasured these two years we've gotten to have with just Rowan. I love my lil' bubby more than I can say and even though we're getting a taste of those terrible twos and it may be a challenge at times to have such a boy I wouldn't trade him for anything :)

A good walk

2009-10-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

The trees around here have no consistency in fall. Some of them are bare already, others are still brilliant, and the rest are stubbornly refusing to accept the cold, rain, and wind as a sign that summer is over. Luckily the majority fall into the second category, which is my favorite so yesterday Rowan, Max, and I trekked around checking them out.

Here we are starting out on our walk
bright eyed on the left and slightly bushy tailed on the right ;)

I like the ones that have many colors at once :)

Every once in a while we'd stop and I'd ask Rowan which leaves on the ground I should take a picture of. Having all the feet in this shot was a happy coincidence :)

These next couple are a bit more special and so a bit bigger ;)

Our first sibling photos!

I'm sure most everyone already knows but just so it's official
we're having a GIRL!
Little miss Katelyn should be here around the 4th of March

Rowan is already a sweet and loving
big brother to baby "Kah-kee"(Katie)
I thought it was super cute to take a picture of them "together"

Yesterday evening I was in the rocking chair when Rowan came up and lifted my shirt to look at my belly. "Kah-kee? Hide?" he asked pointing to my belly, "Yep, Katie's hiding in there" I replied. We figure telling Rowan that Katelyn is "hiding" is the best explanation for why she's inside me at this point. After he made sure she was still in there he took his blankie and put it over my belly, straightened the bottom edge over my lap, and gave my belly and Katie in it a hug. Then he climbed up and we all cuddled. It was so adorable and sweet I just about melted :)

If that doesn't warm your heart I don't know what will ;D