G and Pa came to stay with us for 11 days. We had such a great visit! They got to see our new house and help with projects and childcare. My dad cleaned and brought new life to our kitchen cabinets. He also replaced boards and built new stairs for our deck in preparation for staining it this fall. My mom sewed us new pillows for our couch and patched the quilt Sloane is using that was made for me in 1983. G also played endless imagination games with Sloane- Hanzel and Gretel and Ash and Lance most notably.

We mostly did work around the house and made food together. Pa made a new nickname for Sloane- Sloane-Bologna-Macaroni. Now she calls him Pa-Macaroni. I told Sloane to give G a smack (meaning a kiss) and she slapped G on the cheek. Note to self about literal minds of preschoolers! Pa also built a cardboard house for Sloane because we had loads from our new couch. The house included a mailbox where G and Pa would leave notes for Sloane, which was a big hit.

We had some showers the second week and saw a beautiful rainbow over our neighborhood. These longer visits will have to become a tradition now that both G and Pa are retired.

We made it! One year into 2 children- what a trip. Soren is such a sweetheart. He is very snugly and caring. Soren will share his food  which often means you get soggy food and a drool covered finger in your mouth. He says Mama which comes out Ahh-Ma-ma-mama. He gets out a da-da every once in a while as well. His signing has improved- more, all done, and thank you. He’s got 4 teeth and a few coming in soon. Soren is waving, blowing kisses, and pointing. Oh and CLIMBING EVERYTHING! The child size rocking chair, the step stool, up a slide, and any box he can get his hands on.

On Sunday, his actual birthday, we went to the zoo and invited friends to join us for lunch by the elephants. Soren took 5 steps that day without any support. Then on Wednesday he took 20 steps. He is walking about 50% of the time now. His balance is great and can pivot to change directs very well.

Nini and Papa 2 came for dinner on Sunday and we had a great time at our house. Adam made a gluten, corn, soy, and dairy free carrot cake. It may sound terrible to some but it was FREAKING delicious. I haven’t had real cake in about 11 months but Adam agreed it was springy, moist, and tasty.

Stats and monthly photos to come….

In August, we made the trip to the North East. One red eye flight with two little ones was interesting but not terrible. Sloane was so excited about going to visit G, Pa, Lida, Aunt Jesse, and Uncle Cam that she was ready to go to the airport at 6:30 after dinner even though we didn’t need to get to the airport until 9 pm! Sloane was engrossed in her shows on the tablet she wouldn’t fall asleep. Finally at 1am our time we turned off the tablet and she fell asleep. Soren snoozed in my arms just fine.

Once we arrived in Wilton, Sloane amazed us yet again with her memory. We walked into G and Pa’s house and she immediately asked for the baby stroller. She hadn’t been there in about 14 months and we hadn’t talked about the stroller.

Our trip was night 1 in Wilton, night 2 in Northamptom, MA, night 3, 4, and 5 at Camp Echo Rock, and night 6 back in Wilton. Why I planned the first 3 nights in 3 different states is beyond me but the troops all rallied and we had a blast. We visited with college friends, Seattle roommates, and the fam. Sloane loved Robin and Fritha’s house with 2 cats (Teaspoon and Tari) and 1 Dixie doodle dog (Padfoot). Soren was smiley and fun- making cute eyes and silly smiles at everyone.

Camp Echo Rock was wonderful. We hadn’t been in 2 years and it is a favorite spot from my childhood. It is hard to visit and not see the extended family but going to camp rejuvenates my soul and I hope it will for Sloane and Soren as well. Sloane spent about 6 hours a day playing in the water. She was digging in the sand, fishing (without a hook), pretending to be mama duck and baby duck with Jesse, and jumping off rocks. Soren soaked up G, Pa, and Lida cuddles. We had perfect weather and got to have campfires, kayak rides, and swims.

We’ll be back at Christmas and can’t wait (except the part of flying with a 15 month old wild man!).