a brief dialogue

J: daddy home soon?

me: daddy will be home in an hour... that's like 30 "time outs"

J: ohh... poor daddy

most of the people in Bham are pretty bummed about all this "summers over" business. (and i'll admit... it was kind of a bust) however, I just harvested my first 2 pumpkins out of my garden... i also made a plum crisp this past week... and ok i drank a carmel apple cider about a month ago. so i might be ready for fall...

our corn has started to produce! this is the first time in 3 years that we are really getting our own corn! J is a bit impatient... he wants to eat it raw. but he looks pretty cute when he perches on his crab to eat it.




Jordan brought home a bag of cucumbers from work... a lot of cucumbers... and i thought "i know what to do with these" sliced cucmbers+mayo+vinegar+sugar= grammie's summer pickles. (no measurements... just to taste) and you have to do that lip press/smack thing she did when you're tasting... they won't turn out if you don't :)


here's J and daddy watching pink panther together...


a couple friends from church saved this out of their wedding gifts for J... he loved it! Bubble wrap!


does anybody else see some serious JORDAN here?


made this Potato, Leek, Feta tart the other night... i wasn't sure about it when i was making it but it was really good and easy.


left over crust dough+cinnamon sugar = lovely treat that makes you feel like your 5 and mom's baking pie. :)


little tid bits (things a picture can't capture):

from listening to jordan, J has picked up calling me "darlin'", it's pretty cute.

any sigh or groan during the day is met with a "hurta toe?" or just recently "baby kick?"

any time he coughs (or sneezes) he says "wrong pipe"

he likes his bread with "peebutturhiee" (peanut butter and honey)

the other day i was working in the garage at nap time and i hear over the monitor "jeeesus, than you, i yov you, with daddy, joppa, namma, papa, gammi..." he laid in his bed by himself praying to jesus for like an hour... it was simple and repetitive and sometimes just chatter but it was pretty awesome.

J's two!

i think it's safe to say that J had a very good 2nd birthday :)

daddy brought home a pool for him and had it set up when he woke up from his nap.


he got a book in the mail from grammie and papa... i hear him looking at it in his room :)


the next day his tonka truck arrived or "dum fut"(dump truck) as jeriah says


he loves his crab :) imagine how excited he'll be when there's actually sand in there...


wow what a cool cake... unfortunately the combination of being over beaten and over cooked left this little beauty very dry ... J didn't seem to mind :)

we went camping last weekend with our community group and had a great time with our friends... one major hiccup when J fell and hit his head hard enough to end up with back arched, eyes rolled back, and arms shaking. it was truly terrifying and we are so thankful that he has had no other symptoms of brain damage. Thank you God! Our little guy is behaving completely normally, even amazing us with how much he is learning and growing each day.

perhaps we have spoiled him a bit since then... ice cream and a movie with mom and dad :)


jonah (cousin on jordan's side) came to visit us for the week... he was totally laid back about spending his last days of summer with a boring mom and lively toddler...


he and jordan decided it was time for a haircut :)


J frequently removes all the pans from this cupboard... the crawling into it was new though.


what so funny? i said "1...2...3" before the picture... he said "4" and thought it was a very funny joke :)


proud of this yummy rissoto! carrots, two kinds of squash, and peas from our garden chicken stock from our own chicken. ok ok and there's costco bacon and rice...


our little farmer... he has been particularly enjoying chasing the ducks the past few days...

Happy anniversary to us :)

we celebrated 3 years of marriage this weekend :)

we had dinner at Boundary Bay ... seriously phenomenal Mac and Cheese! don't laugh... just try it next time you're there!

we had dessert and coffee at pure bliss desserts. such a cute little shop and delicious, beautiful desserts! check it out!


on sunday morning after church we packed it up and drove to Anacortes, WA to catch the ferry...


the ferry ride was beautiful!


arriving in friday harbor on San Juan island


we stayed at the Bird Rock Hotel.


decided to rent a "scoot-car" to explore the island


it was a BLAST!!!


stopped off at a yummy lavender farm


Per the recommendation of the hotel we had dinner at the Backdoor Kitchen. They had a tomato-coconut soup that was fantastic. jordan had the lamb sirloin and i had the veggie-goat cheese crepes. we were too full for dessert!

the next morning it was rainy so we got coffee, watched CSI, and then opted for an earlier ferry ride home...


on the ferry jordan was reunited with his long lost love "angry birds" :)


and we were both happy to be reunited with this little love!


...he had fun with Namma and Joppa and even got to hold his cousin jessi for the first time!

the fair in Lynden... it's all about the animals for J... the food for me! we were so close to trying a deep fried candy bar! but $5... it couldn't be done! (which reminds me... i was going to look up a recipe)

checking out the calves


hi pigs



J fairly consistently answers that he want a goat for a pet over a dog


and now for the around the house updates:
i decided one day after watching a bunch of HGTV's "wasted spaces" that i was going to just check and see what might be able to be done with our deep (and very messy) bathroom closet... well that ended with lots of hammering and dry wall dust and J saying "mama made mess!" alot :)

here is the result though: beautifully organized! still tons of storage!


before moving to show you the other side... J decided it was time for and impromptu photo shoot :)












back to the unveiling:
ta da! our one messy closet turned into 2 functional and tidy storage spaces!


AND i used the wood from the old shelving to build J this little, excuse me, "big boy" bed.


don't knock the nesting! i get so much done when i am pregnant! :)

George was a good little monkey and always very curious...

yesterday evening i read J "curious george makes pancakes" there is a recipe on the back so i asked him if he wanted to make them for breakfast tomorrow... he was up at 6am


Daddy teaching J to measure salt the way Namma taught him...


J mixing the dry ingredients...


master chef and sou chef...


J mixing the batter...


... unfortunately we were so busy eating the pancakes that the camera was forgotten. J even sprinkled the blueberries on, with a little help :)