Evelyn is One!

There has been so much that has been going on since my last post!  But I thought I'd start with the most important event of the last few months- Evelyn's first birthday.   I truly can't believe it's been a year already!  In twelve months' time our little gal went from a tiny, helpless newborn to a walking, babbling, singing, laughing, stubborn, strong toddler.  Evelyn just amazes me.  She is one of the sweetest, loving little girls I've ever met, but she won't show that side of herself until you earn it.  She's very stubborn and spirited and I love that about her.  She's an old soul for sure.  But I digress.  Back to her BIG day.  It was a low-key day, but she had so much fun.  We started out the day by going to Gymboree, then had a nice dinner and cake with Skip, followed by opening presents.  Of course Evelyn loved the cake.  We really limit her sugar intake, but let her go to town with her "smash" cake and she put a pretty good dent in it.  She also had a fun time opening her presents, but I think she enjoyed the wrapping paper almost as much as the gifts.  Max also enjoyed "helping" her open the presents and enjoyed testing them out for her too.  Ha! Ha!  All in all it was a delightful day and I was so happy she enjoyed herself.  We are truly a lucky family.    Enjoy the pictures from Evelyn's big 0-1!

Evelyn's Birth Day- making her feelings known from day one

Happy birthday girl!

Another birthday outfit.  She won't let me put on her cute headbands anymore.

Mmmmm...cake

Princess for a day.  Who am I kidding?  Princess every day.

Getting a little hep opening presents

Pancakes!

We had a fun-filled Labor Day weekend this year.  It was a very nice change from last year when I was home alone with Max, almost 8 months pregnant and sick as a dog.  This year, I was at home with the kids Friday and Saturday while Matt went to Bumbershoot in Seattle with his parents and sister.  But Becca came over all day on Saturday to help me out with the kids while I got stuff done around the house.  It was great to hang out with her and she brought her pug CJ, which pleased Max to no end.  He loves little dogs (and Becca), so it was a great day for him. 

Even Evelyn fell for CJ's charm

CJ, Becca and Max

Matt and his parents got back in the wee hours Saturday night and we all spent Sunday at home, playing in the yard and generally enjoying the beautiful weekend weather.  Matt brought out some black tarp and made a "white trash" slip-and-slide.  Max couldn't get enough of it.  Evelyn mostly preferred the safety of the non-slippery grass, but did have plenty of fun in the water.

Perfect form!

Evelyn and Julia checking things out

We discovered over the weekend that our little Evelyn has expensive taste in food.  Julia put out some smoked salmon she brought back from Alaska for us to spread on crackers.  It was some pretty good stuff, so we were all eating it in small doses.  Evelyn, however, decided to go over and help herself and eat it by the handful.  She ate more than the rest of us in about 30 seconds.  We had to take it away from her before she ate all of it!  She definitely doesn't have her brother's finicky eating habits.

Mmmm...smoked salmon

While Max is very particular about what he eats,  there is one  thing he can't get enough of- pancakes.  So we went to his new favorite restaurant, Slappy Cakes, where you make your own pancakes right at the table.  As soon as we told him we were going there, he must have yelled "Pancakes!" about 30 times.  It's so easy to impress a 2-year-old. 

Kocubinski girls

"Pancakes!!!"

Yum!

Cool girl

Matt's family had to leave town that afternoon.  It was a very short trip for them, but we were happy they made it.  Especially since Sue and Julia just got back from an Alaskan cruise for their 60/30 birthdays.  They were exhausted since it was more of an adventure cruise (kayaking and jumping in ice-cold water, among other things) than a playing shuffle board on the lido deck kind of cruise.   So we were that much more appreciative that they came to see us. 

Sue and Julia in Alaska

After his family headed back to Montana, Matt, the kids and I rounded out the holiday weekend with a BBQ with our friend Skip, or "Dip" as Max calls him.  After all, Labor Day just isn't Labor Day until you've busted out the grill.  It was a great end to a great weekend.

More Summer Fun!

Things are still rockin' and rollin' around these parts.  Labor Day weekend is over already and I'm ready for fall to arrive.  Mother Nature, however, didn't get the memo that it is September and has provided Portland with a heat wave (upper 90's all week!) in order to extend our summer a little bit longer.  Matt is pretty excited since he only works two days this week and we haven't had any weather this warm all summer.

The kids continue to have fun every day.  They just adore being outside.  I think I hear Max say "outside!" about 50 times a day.  We've spend seemingly endless hours running in the grass, picking raspberries from our bushes, playing on the slide, blowing bubbles and playing in the sprinklers.  It's been fantastic.

We also got to check out a small amusement park along the river that I somehow never heard of in the entire 3+ years I've lived here.  Max wasn't a huge fan of most of the rides, but LOVED the roller coaster.  Overall, it was a fun day with our play group doing something new and fun.  How often do you get to ride on a carousel that is over 100 years old?

Max trying to decide if he wanted to go on the ride

We're working on sharing

"When do I get to go on the rides?"

Evelyn continues to grow like a weed.  She is standing up by herself without pulling herself up on anything, but not walking just yet.  I know it will happen any day now.  And with standing comes falling down, but our incredibly tough little tomboy rarely cries about getting hurt and just tries again.  She's also becoming a great eater.  Max is so incredibly picky so I was worried she would be too, but she eats just about anything I put in front of her including meat and veggies.  It's great.  Our headstrong lady also weaned herself cold turkey last week.  She literally woke up one morning and decided she was over nursing.  At first I thought maybe she wasn't feeling well or was teething.  But she was healthy and no teeth came in.  I called the pediatrician because I was a little worried, but they said she was expressing her displeasure that I had started the weaning process (I had replaced one nursing a day with a bottle of formula a few days before this happened).  The nurse I talked to said it sounded like Evelyn was a "very independent spirited little girl" and I could try to keep nursing her,  but she may have already made up her mind to quit, which turned out to be the case.  I kept thinking about how my mom used to threaten that I would have a daughter just like me someday.  I guess it just happened sooner than I thought.  You were right Mom! She's just as stubborn as me.  Maybe more...

 

My tough gal with her favorite truck and scraped up nose

Who doesn't love pizza?

Longing to to outside

Max continues to expand his vocabulary and loves being able to narrate his entire day.  His newest favorite thing to do is "help" mommy with chores around the house.  He wants to load/unload the dishwasher, feed the dogs, pick up dog messes outside, sweep, help with laundry, and just about anything else I do wants to help with.  It's very sweet even if he slows down the process.  What are the chances he'll continue to want to do that into his teen years?  Ha! Ha!  We've also begun to potty train him.  He's doing really well so far.  Several times a day he tell me he wants to "pee toilet".  I haven't actually had to do that much- he's doing so much on his own.  And finally, now that is is talking so much, we're working on manners.  Instead of just yelling what he wants, we are making him say please and thank you.  I'm happy to say he's picking up on it really quick.  What a guy.

Happy guy!

Catching up on his celebrity gossip while sitting on the toilet

Diapers and Puma shoes.  It's a good look.

As always, it's such a blast watching the kids grow, explore the world around them and develop their personalities.  I count my blessing every night.  Matt and I are some of the luckiest parents in the world.

Play Dates!

Before I really get started on this entry, I have to announce all the great news I've been receiving from friends and family.  First off, my friend Frankie is PREGNANT!  I'm ridiculously excited for her.  She's due at the end of January, is feeling good, and will find out the sex next month.  I just love hearing baby news!  Next up is Stephanie who got a fantastic new job at an athletic club as the Head of Pilates.  She gets normal hours, benefits and on-site day care for Will!  Woohoo!  My beautiful sister-in-law Ma got the wonderful news that her Lupis is finally in remission!  Yea!  I'm so very happy that she is feeling good again (although probably not as happy as she is).  Plus, she is starting culinary school very soon, which I have a feeling is going to be a blast for her.  My friend Anna is this close to finishing her PhD and took a short break for a few weeks to take classes to become a yoga instructor.  How cool is that?  And finally my other SIL is excelling at her job, still traveling the world (off to Alaska on Thursday!), and has a swell guy in her life that makes her happy and treats her the way she deserves.  Ahhhh.  There are few things in life that warm the soul as much as good news from dear friends.

 Ok, back on track. Play dates.   I have had the great fortune of meeting some wonderful women here in the Portland area who all have sons the same age as Max.  We met at Gymboree back before most of the boys could even walk.  Over the last year we've become pretty good friends and our boys play so well together!  We've recently decided to meet once a month for Mom's Night Out where we can just hang out without having to chase toddlers.  A few of us still meet once a week at Gymboree, but we all get together once a week with the kids outside of Gymboree for play dates.  I LOVE getting together with Meadowlark, Cindy, Megan, Jenn, and all the boys.   Jenn's friend Jenny, who has two girls to add to the mix, has also joined in the fun.  Now Evelyn isn't quite so outnumbered.  Meadowlark and Jenn both had their second baby this year, so we're really adding to the crew and it's great!  There are now 5 two-year-old boys, a two-year-old girl, a 13 month old girl, my 10 month old little lady, a 7 month old boy, and a 3 month old boy.  Whew!  Since the weather has been so nice lately, we've been meeting at different homes to just let the kids run around outside.  I know it's been so great for Max.  Especially since he doesn't go to day care where many kids develop their social skills.  And now that Evelyn is getting a little older, I know it's going to be great for her as well.  Frankly, it's been great for me too.  These wonderful ladies help keep me sane.  I get out of the house and have grown up conversations with intelligent, funny people who know exactly how challenging it can be to take care of kids as they go through the "terrible twos".  Here are some pics of the boys...

Taking a break from playing in the pool

I think I'd have a better chance at winning the Powerball than getting all the boys to pose at the same time

At Megan's ranch!

It's been such a pleasure getting to know this group and watching the kids get bigger, stronger and more active.  I think these kids will remain friends as they get older- I know their moms will!  :)

Fun Summer Adventures

My recap of the summer continues...

After the kids and I returned from a very eventful trip to Montana, we got to spend a week with my parents.  My mom drove back from Montana with us and my dad flew in to Portland from Carson City to meet us.  We took it easy most of the week, but did go to the zoo one day and went to one of Portland's many berry patches to pick fresh raspberries.  Yum!  Max had a blast, but he ate more than he picked.  And Evelyn had fun crawling around as the rest of us filled our buckets.

Max with Grammy and Papa at the zoo!

She can't wait until she can walk like her big brother

My little berry picker

While my parents were here we decided to get Max a toddler bed.  More accurately, Max decided he needed a toddler bed when he climbed out of his crib multiple times to join us in the living room well after his bed time.  Fortunately he never hurt himself while doing this, but it sure shocked the heck out of us when he casually sauntered out to join us after we thought he was tucked in for the night.

Loving his big boy bed

After my parents left, Matt and I decided to take the kids to the beach.   On a surprisingly cold summer day, we drove over to Astoria (where they filmed The Goonies!) to give Evelyn her first glimpse of the ocean.  We didn't stay long since it was so cold and wet, but we did let Max try his hand at driving on a car-friendly beach.  He didn't do too bad other than occasionally veering the car toward the water.  Ha! Ha!

Max takes the wheel

Matt adores his little man

Matt's mom paid us a visit at the beginning of August.  We were able to do a bit more berry picking after Matt ran his third half-marathon.   He's become a running fool.  He's in the process of training for the Columbia Gorge Marahon in October.  I don't know how he does it. 

Matt finishing in his best time yet

My handsome husband and his proud mama

Finally our most recent adventure was a camping trip at Cape Lookout near Tillamook.  It was Evelyn's first camping trip and Max's third.  We went to the spot last summer with Matt's family and a bunch of their friends and fell in love with the location.  The campground itself is beautiful and right on the ocean.  It's also close to some cool tide pools, scenic locations as well as the Tillamook cheese factory and a cool airplane museum.  The kids were great little campers and loved getting dirty.  Unfortunately Evelyn started crying the second night and it took me a few minutes to calm her down.  The next morning, this lovely lady came to our camp site to ask how our "little poet" was doing that morning.  I apologized for Evelyn waking her up and she said the didn't mind at all and actually thought it was refreshing.  Apparently she has nine grandkids herself and loves seeing kids camping.  Then she said that she can tell from Evelyn's "soulful cry" that she will be a poet or artist when she grows up.  I guess we'll see.  Speaking of our future artist, that girl could not get enough of the ocean.  Every time we set her down on the sand, she made a beeline for the water.  Max however, was a little intimidated by the big ocean waves.  He wasn't too interested in getting near the water.  Maybe he'll enjoy it a bit more next year.

Camping is fun!

I'm not sure what he was looking at...

"Let me in the water!"

Max waving at the ocean

A couple of cute freakin' kids

My filthy little Griz girl

Finally, on our way home, we swung by the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some ice cream (yum!) and cheese samples for everyone except for yours truly who doesn't care for the stuff.  Then we swung by the air museum just to make Max's day.  He LOVES airplanes, so we didn't want to pass up the opportunity to let him get up close and personal with some.

This plane was Max-sized

My little Top Gun

In the cockpit (Evelyn wasn't into it).

 It was a great trip and something we might just have to do every year.  I think it will be easier next year when Evelyn is walking.  Chasing two toddlers through the campground may be a bit of a challenge, but it's one I can't wait to take on!