OMSI

We made it to our yearly visit to the museum of science and industry on Sunday and had a great time. We went with our friends from church and the girls had so much fun. They had a reptile exhibit and they got to pet bearded dragons, giant turtles, and snakes. They have $2 days every month and I'm hoping we can make it more than once a year.

Family hike

We took advantage of our long weekend and decided to hike to the top of Multnomah falls. We tried to hike it last year but Ava quit about half way through. This time she wanted to quit half way through but we bribed her with fried chicken and fruit snacks if she kept going. Although we had to endure A LOT of whining, it was worth it to get to the top. She loved the maze of rocks and fallen trees over the river and Ian was just happy to be fed.

Cozy in his backpack

Hiding in a cave

The pose

Look I can see our car!

The top of the falls

We made it!

Mom there's a waterfall on my head

Rewarded with a sno cone

Hi/Lo

I haven't really wanted to admit it but summer is quickly coming to a close around these parts. Ben is back to work and 'shudder' I actually needed a sweater when I left the house yesterday. It has been a really good summer and I thought I'd write down my highlights thus far.

*berry picking

*swimming in the lake with Ava

*watching Ian get loving from friends and family in Chicago

*Pedicure's with Jenni at Woodfield

*Watermelon and lemonade with the in-laws

*sleeping in

*Impromptu Weezer concert in New York

*s'mores, s'mores, s'mores

*jetski's with Christy

*Disneyland

*Ava bonding with her cousins

*dinner with Amy & Patrick

*lounging on the boat with the Stapp's

*weekly farmstands

*naps on the porch swing

*watching Ava haul out her gear to the yard for her annual campout with Daddy

In the interest of full disclosure there have been some serious lows as well. Probably the lowest point of the summer was on our trip down to San Diego. We were on hour 10 of our 12 hour day and everyone was hungry and cranky and we stopped for dinner at this strip mall. It was so shady there were security guards walking around the sidewalks. We went into this chinese "restaurant" and ordered some food from a "buffet." It looked bad and smelled bad and frankly I feared for my children's safety. I ordered food from the "subway" next door and am still not sure what they gave me as no one spoke English. Suddenly Ava declared that she had to go potty but unfortunately none of the "restaurants" had bathrooms. Really, isn't subway required to have a bathroom?! So we had to run down the street to the starbucks as Ava's holding her self and yelling, "it's diarrhea mommy, hurry!" We did manage to make it in time and then the whole family spent the last 2 hours of our trip in tears (ok except for Ben). Luckily :) Ben was so amused by the situation that he pulled out the camera to document our family moment.

I love the sign in the window.

So there it is. I am looking forward to a few things this fall, like the return of new Modern Family episodes, cozy days with the fire going, and the holiday's. But mostly I'll be counting down the days until Ben is home with me full time and tank tops and flip flops are the uniform of the day.

Ian update: 8 1/2 months

Using his 30th percentile body weight to hold up his 90th percentile head

The constant stream of drool

Seriously mom, can you at least wait until I have a diaper on

Ian. He is a sweet boy. He really wants to crawl so that he can get over to me and eat my face. Unfortunately all he can do is flail his arms and roll over. He loves to eat and will scream until you put food in his mouth. I think he's more like Ben and doesn't like food as much as he doesn't want to be hungry. Right now his current favorites are sweet potatoes, mangoes, carrots, avocados, and yogurt. He never smiles when he's eating. He's still nursing but not very much and I'm just hoping we can last a couple more months. He drools so much that I have to change his clothes every 3 hours. This is with a bib on. He has two teeth on the bottom and two coming in the top. It's pretty cute. Ava didn't get a single tooth until after her first birthday so it's weird that he has teeth so early. He's slept through the night since he was 5 weeks old, except on vacation, and takes great naps. I don't know how I would survive if he wasn't a good sleeper. I was not a very coherent person on vacation with the sleep deprivation. Ian loves his big sister and they've started to play together which gets me every time. Ava has never hit him or sat on him or attempted to feed him to the cat (all of which I expected). She helps me with him constantly and entertains him when I need to get something done. So far he's been great with strangers and other family members but he's most definitely a mama's boy. When I pick him up he makes this happy squealing noise and he follows me around the room. He hates it when I'm not within arms reach because, like I said, he wants to pull my head in and eat my face. I think we're at that sweet spot before crawling and I'm enjoying it while I can. I know once he's mobile I'm going to have a squealing, drooling, mischievous, face eater at my feet and things are going to get very messy.

Peach pancakes

I had to make these twice just to be sure but they are indeed the best pancakes I have ever had. Yes, not just made but had. I think about them far too often then I should and therefore have decided that they will be the first recipe posted on my blog.

Peach Pancakes (makes about 10) (If you double it, keep the 1 egg and make it 3 T butter)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup flour

1 T sugar

1 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/4 - 1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg

1 egg

2 T unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled

1 large ripe (but cutable) peach

Whisk dry ingredients

Whisk egg & butter into buttermilk

Make a well in dry ingredients

Pour in milk mixture & whisk gently ( leave a few lumps)

Cook in a skillet or griddle (I didn't even use butter)

Pour about 1/4 cup batter & sprinkle cutup peaches all over

cook about 1-3 minutes until large bubbles appear, flip & then cook until golden

Cover with butter and real maple syrup

They'll keep for a little while on a cooling rack in a 250 oven

My assistant cutting up the peach & looking fabulous in pink underwear and gold heels

Ian helped by not screaming and attempting to eat puffs

They smell so good!

Sorry there are no pictures of the finished product as they were eaten within 5 minutes of us sitting down to breakfast.

celebrity look alikes

Maybe it's just me but sometimes I am amazed at how many celebrities Ava looks like. Sometimes she'll look at me and instantly someone famous comes to mind. Here are a few examples.

My lovely daughter

Tim Burton?

Helena Bonham Carter?

Al Sharpton?

Troll Doll?

Actually people tell me that she looks like Shirley Temple but I'm leaning towards Al Sharpton and the troll doll's love child.

Christmas Lists

I'm taking a brief hiatus from my five day bed rest due to the worst case of food poisoning ever to post a cute exchange with Ava.

Me: "What are you doing honey?"

Ava: "I'm dust paying with my seeping beauty doll"

Long Pause

Ava: "Mommy?"

Me: "Yes honey?"

Ava: "Can you get me Santa's phone number?"

Me: "Uhhh. Why?"

Ava: "I want to make sure he knows that I want little mermaids costume for Christmas."

Me: "Sorry sweetie but I don't think Santa has a telephone. You'll just have to write him a letter."

That's my girl. She knows how to go straight to the source.