Embrace

Pumpkin spice lattes.  The first day of school.  Leaves on the ground.  Rain.  All signs that fall is near (Well...except for the rain.  In Seattle that's obviously year-round!). 

I've been completely in denial that our summer is ending.  But I think the time has come to *choke it out Megs* embrace it?!?  I know most of you (especially you southerners) are celebrating the fact that you had a nice, long summer.  That is not the case here in Washington.  I think the past 10 months have made for one of the cruddiest in history for Seattle weather.  Winter was Fall - chilly, windy, rainy....but not quite cold enough for snow...for an ACTUAL winter. 

I invested in a great pair of ski pants, jacket, and boots for my little toddler because of the months of snow storms the year before and NEVER USED IT!  This IS Washington, isn't it? 

Then our Fall-like weather continued until....July actually.  Blah, gray 50-something degree weather and rain.  From October through June.  SO wish I was kidding.

 July the sunshine came out, and was pretty steadily between 70-80 through mid-August....a few scorchers, but nothing we couldn't handle.  In fact we were GREATFUL for those sweaty, humid, hair's-curling-outta-control days (at least I was..)! 

But here it is....the LAST day of August....and I have the HEAT on.  Its rainy, cold, stormy...and frankly I have sweatpants, knee-high socks, and a SWEATSHIRT on right now WHILE sitting by the heater.  PA-THE-TIC!

So....tomorrow is September.  What am I going to do?  Break out some Fall-like decorations, put some soup in the crockpot, pull the sweaters out of the far-reaches (next to my tanks) of the closet, and embrace Fall.  Looking on the BRIGHT side of things....as my dear mother pointed out...Fall means one season CLOSER to my Lil Miss.  THAT I can hold onto.  THAT can pull me STRAIGHT out of my denial and let me *swallow* embrace Fall.  Wish me luck!

The Puma Family

This was not intentional.  Or on purpose!  Oh wait - those are the same thing!  =)

But REALLY!  It all started with ME (as most things do =).  I was shopping (as I often do) for my brother.  We walked into the Puma outlet to look for shoes.  He?  Yeah, he found nothing.  But ME!  (See how it always comes back to me? ;)  I found a KILLER SALE on shoes!  Considering I was actually avoiding working out because my ankles were hurting from my less-than-stellar shoes (oh who am I kidding?  I'm ALWAYS avoiding working out!) I thought it was time to invest in some new ones.  Twenty-five bucks don't sound bad, now does it?  For someone who hates tennishoes because their too ugly...yeah, they're pretty cute! =)

Then it was my husband.  Oh poor me....I haven't bought shoes in four years....oh my feet hurt!  (Such a winer, isn't he?)  So yeah...maybe it WAS time to invest in him too.  After all, most of the mulah is being spent on me anyway!  =)  Fortunately he found some he like on sale too.  Not an incredible sale like MINE, but decent enough for the only pair of shoes he'll buy for another three or four years.

And then there was Lil Man... (Oh yeah!  Forgot about him did we?  Almost?  No...not really.)  Well....the kid already has monster feet.  Monster feet that grow FAST!  Couldn't for the LIFE of me figure out why he complained when I put his Robeez on!  Ooooohhhh....is that your TOE?  Oops...guess those are a little tight.  Okay...guess YOU need shoes too!  What is THAT Nordstrom???  Toddler shoes??  On SALE???  Say WHAT?!?  They look "JUST LIKE DADDY'S!!!" (That's Skyler's excitement there, not to be mistaken for mine...)

Yeah....so THAT'S how we became "The Puma Family"!!!  Dun-dun-duuuunnnn!!!!  You likey???

And yes....Monkey would LOVE to show you his "cool soos like daddy's!"  Feel free to ask! =)

Facebook Tot

Absorbent little sponge.... =)

"Let me just check Mama's FB here..."

"I should update her status real quick: 

...cleaning....up....after....monkey......who....knew???

.....cheese....tastes.....better....mashed...."

"Oh HEY....there mama!  All done!"

Lil Miss

I think about you every day

All the little things I miss

I wonder how your heartbeat sounds

The feeling of your kicks

I gaze outside the window

Wondering how our life will change

And how our little miracle

Will find our world so strange

I worry about our Lil Man

And how he will adjust

For now he carries his "baby" 'round

And kisses her so much

We're waiting for the day

We get to hold you forever

And form a bond with you, my dear

That nobody will sever

My baby girl, please know your loved

We long to see your face

But while you're there with your Enat

Cherish that special place

NWW Fair & THE Crash

The NW Washington Fair

Our hometown annually hosts the NWW Fair for a week in August.  Now that we have a wee one at home, we try to make it an effort to go each year.  Something we haven't done since high school. 

We had a great day walking around, visiting the animals, checking out the booths...  I really wanted to take Monkey on some kiddie rides...but the going rate for a ride pass was $25!!  With the adoption, the remodel, and Monkey's birthday rapidly approaching...that was just NOT in our budget this year.  We still had a lot of fun without the rides though.

My parents (and my brother) joined us for the first part of the day.  The conversation with my family (that we see way too infrequently) made the day a little extra special and we got to enjoy a nice lunch before my parents headed back to work and we layed Lil Man down for a nap. 

Checking out the bunny rabbits and chickens...

Checking out the tractors...and trying them on for size...

The Week-Old Goat...

(real life...right?)

The Toddler Tractor Maze...

AFTER Nap Time:

Farewell Dinner for Uncle Tony (who just left for college) and THE Crash

After dinner we went to my in-law's house to hang our for a few and pray over Tony before he left.  Hubs and I almost didn't go because we were suppossed to meet my parents at the fair.  My parents were flexible, so we decided to go last minute.  SO thankful for that moment of prayer as a family.  Turns out, the next morning Tony left for the long trip to school.  On his way (and only a few days after this pic) he and his friends got hit in his truck on the freeway.  It was a horrible collision...his truck was hit so hard it turned 180 degrees before rolling several times onto the shoulder of the freeway in South Dakota.  During the crash, his friend was knocked unconscious, with a terrible bleeding headwound.  His friend's fiance was in and out of consciousness.  Tony was alert and panicked, but disoriented, running around the scene of the crash, trying to make sure everyone was okay and figure out where they were.  His friend was airlifted to a big hospital, while Tony and his friend's fiance were taken to a small, nearby hospital.  Both his friend and friend's fiance had only minor wounds and were released from the hospital the next morning.  Tony got the brunt of the crash....had stitches in his arm, two staples in his head, a black eye, and a partially collapsed lungs.  Thank GOD he is okay.  Looking at that truck after-the-fact (and just in pictures) we have no idea how he survived that and thank the LORD, who had guardian angels surrounding him.  I'm in tears (again) thinking about how close we came to losing our brother.  He was in the hospital for several days.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law flew to S.Dakota to be with him and take him the rest of the way to school (collision was on Friday, school started Wednesday).  Hubs wanted to be there SOOO bad, but his mom asked him to stay here because he had a family to be with and an adoption to pay for =)  Its probably for the best, he was a mess after hearing the news...I think he would have fallen apart had he been there.  (P.S. Guy who hit them was arrested for the equivalent to "Reckless Driving" here in Washington.  It was his second huge collision in less than a month.  No, he was not drinking...just stupid and careless.)  My MIL and SIL did get Tony to school on time, and took him shopping to replace all his electronics (all his possessions were in his truck and almost all of them were completely destroyed).  He is doing fine now.  School dorms are making some extra-special accomidations for him because of his condition.  His lungs are improving, but it will take time to heal and he REALLY has to take it easy.  His truck is totaled (which is obvious from the pictures).

Back to the fair.....

After the farewell dinner and prayer time at my in-laws, we headed back to the fair to meet with my parents.  Mom and I went shopping to get a special trinket for Monkey (my annual tradition).  Honestly, the booths are almost the same every year so it is becoming a challenge to find something new.  Monkey ended up picking out some maracas that he has been having fun making music with since.

My dad and Hubs were looking at trailers, and boring stuff like that...but right before we were getting ready to leave, we spotted this:

The Strider Pre-Bike...

This bike was the coolest thing ever!  No pedals....made to train toddlers (started before age two preferrably) how to ride a bike.  So they sit on the seat and run...it teaches them balance, and then eventually they learn to go fast enough they stick their legs out, and then eventually up on the bar and ride.  The people in their booth had their three-year-old demonstrate for us, it was amazing!  And he was surprised to see how well Lil Man was doing at this age already.  Seriously want to get one for our little dude!  Eliminates the need for training wheels....how cool is that!?!?

Anyway, so that was our fun at the fair!!!  (And the horrible details of the accident for those who were asking...)

Fun on the Farm!!!

It's been a little while since I've updated here.  It's been a very busy summer over here!  When you only get a few weeks of great weather, you've GOT to make the most of it.  So that's exactly what we've been doing!

Being the pathological picture taker that I am, I have a TON of photos to catch up with.  So for those of you who are photo people, you are gonna like these next few posts!  For those of you who aren't...well...you're CRAZY!  =)

Now that I've told you how BEAUTIFUL its been in Seattle for the month of August, I'm going to show you pictures from one of the rainiest days.  But believe me, there's been some scorchers mixed in there! 

Flashback to August 7 (Seven??  Wow, I'm REALLY behind!) we had a company picnic (my mother-in-law's company picnic) in L-town (our hometown).  Normally not our cup of tea.  But after hearing about a farm turned play-yard, including horse-back rides, train rides, bouncy houses, waterslides, human bowling, and a HUGE feast we decided to make the two hour drive for a day of fun.  Being it AUGUST and all, we assumed the weather would be nice.  It really was a gorgeous week with some 80 weather.  But when Saturday came, so did the rain.  And it rained HARD.  So excuse me if my hair's a frizzy mess and my mascara's running down my face...because here in Seattle?  Only the tourists carry umbrellas! =)

So here is a glimpse of our fun on the farm (and yes we did have fun, despite the rain)...

Sitting on daddy's shoulders to watch the balloon stomp

Monkey and Mama trying to stay under GOD'S umbrella's (aka TREES)

My MIL and Hubs there back-to-back waiting for the whistle to start the BALLOON STOMP!

Balloon - tied to ankle....last one remaining WINS!

Monkey getting dad some sympathy points! =)

Love the action shot =)

Then on to the...Coin Toss??  They threw a bunch of coins into this pile of hay and different age groups got to sort through it.  This is ages 1-3...parents got to help, but only the kids could PICK UP the coins.

Monkey made $17!  WOOHOO!  (And bought himself a JR Black and Decker tool set at Costco....gotta love kid money!)

Lunch time!!!  Someone was a little overdue for a nap, can you tell?

Thank GOODNESS some friends brought a gazebo to keep us out of the downpour!

What?!?  Is this NOT how you're suppossed to eat PB&J?

Naptime?!?  In a STROLLER?!?  You've GOT to be kidding me mom!

Cookie Monster =)

When all else fails....TRAIN RIDE!!!  Or "go choo-choo" as Monkey put it! =)

Face painting...

...on BOTH sides! =)

Horseback rides with mama (MY first one since...middle school??? and Monkey's first EVER!)

Petting the horsey!

AND!  One more train ride before heading home.

Whew!!!  You exhausted yet?  We sure were by the end of that fun-filled day!  It was well worth the drive though.  Nothing like spending a day in the rain (in sandals) outside with your family.  Once a year...more than that and I would be one whiney girl! =)  But Monkey was a trooper and had a smile on his face most of the day (which is saying a lot for a 22 month old)...what more could I ask for???

Thanks mom and dad for inviting us for such a fun day!!!  So glad we got to spend it with you!

Monkey Says...

Today marks another milestone in my Lil Man's life...23 months old today.  Almost two.  Only one more month to go.  I'm happy...I'm overwhelmed...I'm shocked...I'm in love.  This kid gets cuter EVERY day!  So WHAT does a 23-month-old sound like???

It seemed to take forever for little words to be forming out of my Lil Monkey's mouth.  But the time has come...  The words are begining to flow and the most hilarious little things come out of his mouth some days!!!  Here's the list of words I'm compliling that he can say now:

***Note: I know these mundane things about life with a toddler won't interest some of you, but please bear with me.  I want to have these recorded so I can remember them someday.

All (aw)

Amen (anen)

Baby (babeee)

Ball

Binky (ingy)

Boy

Bye-bye (buhbye usually, or just bye)

Car (caw)

Cool

Dad

Dada

Daddy (heavy dd's)

Done

Eyes (heavy on the sss)

Go

Good

Gone

Grandma (gama)

Grandpa (gapa)

Help (hewp)

Hi
Juice (duce)

Keys (heavy s)

Kierra (ewa)

Lisey (eeessie...or dedee...depending...)

Kiss (ksss)

Mama

Milk (ick)

Mom

My

No

Night-night (nigh-nigh)

On

Outside (owside)
Pee
Pee-pee

Please (peeeaaass)
Poopies

Shoes (soos)

Sister (siser)

Skyler (kayer)

Thank-you (anku)

Truck (uck)

We

Where

Why

Yes
Yum-yum (num-num)
Yummy (nummy)

Yes, Monkey is working on his friend's names.  It's REALLY cute! =)  Here are some of the funny phrases that come out of that kid's mouth:

Where gon' go mama?

Go-go-go! (while chasing or racing)

Go buhbye? (while waiting at the door)

Binky peas!!!

Daddy's shoes!

I good boy?? (in case I need to be reminded ;)

Daddy's car!

Cool shoes like daddy's!

Thanku mama! (love this, and its always mama he's thankin')

Help peas mama!

Oh no!  Where's daddy?

Daddy nigh-nigh mama?

Shhh!!!! =P (finger to mouth and all)

Nigh-nigh mama daddy (as he creeps out of the room and says shhh)

Go nigh-nigh? (when he's ready for bed)

My ball?

Where ball go mama?

Heeeelp, help! (high pitched and quiet from across the room)
I go pee! (when asked "How's the diaper?")
Help mama, poopies!
Hey!  Dat's my daddy!

Of course, being my husband's son...he's VERY into sound effects too. 

Brrrrrrrr... (for cars/trucks)

Crrrrrr... (crashing noises, you know)

Weewooo, weewooo (Police cars and Firetrucks)

Pshhh... (flying cars mostly)

Choo choo (trains, obviously)

Oooo ooo aaahh ahh (monkey =P)

Cack (duckies)

Waaarrrrr!!  (Roar for bears, lions, ect.)

Like I said....love that kid!  Happy 23 Months Lil Man!!!  Can't believe that birthday is just around the corner!!! =)

I'm Beat.

I feel beat today.  Our morning started at 1am (a short hour after we WENT to bed) with a crying and coughing Lil Man. 

About two weeks ago our Monkey got a cold.  As the runny nose disappeared this cough showed up.  We honestly thought nothing of it until two days ago when it started gradually getting worse.  Now that its been over a week, we were thinking this would be the day to take him to the doctor.  We would have to wait a day too long.

So we're up with Monkey, who coughs for probably a half hour STRAIGHT and once he can begin to slow them down (thanks to a lot of snuggles and lullabies and rocking and massaging) he is crying between coughts "help mama".  =(  Tears.  We did everything in our power to make it stop and finally called the blessed 24/7 nurses' line that is provided by Monkey's pediatrician's office.  Thank you JESUS for them!  The sweet nurse who called us back helped us find a few tricks that worked for him (a heaping teaspoon of honey for one, and raising his humidifier closer to his bed and cranking it on high, and a dose of his zyrtec - normally for eczema) so that we could get him back to sleep, which was probably around 3am. 

Not the best way to start the morning.

Fortunately, that humidifier worked wonders and allowed Lil Man to stay asleep until 9am.  Not bad, not bad.  But of course, we're tired.

We called the pediatrician's office right away in the morning and they fit us in before lunch.  We didn't know, however, that it would turn into a three hour event!  Although it wasn't his normal pediatrician, we were grateful to get in and thankful for the doctor's thoroughness.  Although he didn't diagnose Monkey with asthma, he does want to start him on the nebulizer and really kick this cough in the butt before we try antibiotics (I really appreciate that approach).  Both my husband and I had severe childhood asthma, so although we know the risk is high, we are just praying that Monkey won't have to go through what we went through.  It breaks my heart to see him hurting.

So right after the doctor's office (which took a while, but not forever) we headed to the pharmacy by the hospital to get the nebulizer.  That took a while because they had to call our insurance to find out how much of it they would cover.  Fortunately we have great insurance and it only cost us $24.  A small price to pay for our son's health.  Then it was off to our regular pharmacy (good old Sav-on at Albertson's) for the albuterol and antibiotics (in case we need them later) and a few groceries.

We got home long past nap-time and still had to do lunch and attempt our first nebulizer treatment.  It was NOT a success.  The two of us couldn't hold this Monkey down long enough to keep the mask on.  We decided he was probably over-tired and it really wasn't worth forcing it on him at this point.

He took a great nap and I wish I could say that the nebulizer treatments were a success later in the day...but that is just not the case.  I tried after naptime and had the same freakout (despite mama showing Monkey how silly the fishy mask looked on me - it was only temporarily funny to Lil Man).  My last attempt was before bedtime and I finally decided that if he could just sit in the general vicinity of the mask while the nebulizer was on maybe it would help....he fought me for a long time, but mostly cried and kicked and wailed his arms....but eventually he sat still (arms outright and very stiff and mad, but still) while I held the mask a good six inches in front of him.  Hopefully something is better than nothing.

Ugh....  To say I am pooped would be an understatement.  But here's why I'm sharing this with you:

I know I'm not the only mom who's toddler has needed these treatments (in fact, I started them at the age of three, I think).  Have any of you had an experience similar to mine and have any tips or tricks to share?  And let me just say....this is NOT life or death, and I refuse to pin down my screaming child to put this mask on.  Not gonna happen.  So you might as well just leave out that advice.  But even some encouragement would be great!  Thank you in advance!  =)  You experienced mama's have saved my butt more than once!

Well...a little photo editing and I'm off to bed I do believe.