I took the kids to the zoo in early May, just the 3 of us. There were a ton of people there; with it being so close to summer vacation, it seems that every school in Portland decided to take a field trip to the zoo :) I was beyond proud of Tycen and Shaylie...they were able to walk around the entire zoo for the first time ever (usually I have to keep them in the stroller when we don't have a 1:1 child to adult ratio) and stayed close by me the whole way! This was especially impressive (and important) in the large crowd :) I think we're embarking on a new chapter...
Growing up... holding on to the stroller:
They could see the animals so much better standing than sitting in their stroller :)
Inside the bird exhibit for the first time:
Lunchtime! This summer has been all about the picnic lunches outdoors :)
Grandma Jan came for a visit the weekend of Mother's Day. She is always very good about taking a lot of pictures, so I usually retire my camera while she's here. The only down side is that I don't get enough pictures with her it them! I already posted a lot of her pictures on my Mother's Day post, but here are some more from her trip...
Tyce often sits in his car seat with his legs crossed like this, which I think is so cute--he looks like such a big boy! :)
Shaylie was mimicking her brother:
Playing at Marshall Park:
Playing 'drums':
Lunch with Emily and 'the boys':
I have to get creative when trying to entertain two toddlers on a long grocery shopping excursion. I am often grabbing toys/props off the shelf that they can play with just while in the store. I almost bought Tyce this hat because I thought it made his eyes stand out so much, but in the end figured I probably wouldn't have him leave the house in a sequin semi-beret :)
He can almost pull it off...he's such a pretty little boy (I know, Tyce will love me for this later ;)
My favorite duet:
In the middle of May, we went to our friend, Raeley's, 1st birthday party:
They live on a farm out by McMinville, Oregon, and had a cowgirl/cowboy theme:
Some of the kids went on a little horsey ride...Tyce and Shay chose to enjoy the horse from afar :)
April made this adorable cake, she's so creative!
We really miss our friends, April and Raeley! They recently moved back to Wyoming, where April is from and lived before moving to Oregon for PT school. We hope to see them before too long and will make sure to remain close even though we live so far away!
After Raeley's party, we took the kids to a really fun event called, Sesame Street Live! It was at the Memorial Collesium:
Soaking it all in...they've never seen anything like this before :) All of the Sesame Street things they've seen or heard are books/CDs.
Shaylie's getting in to it:
Tycey's still a little unsure:
Now they're groovin... :)
One of our many picnics in the park:
I LOVE this picture of Tyce and Shay with their best buddies! There was a loud garbage truck in the neighborhood, which is why Shaylie is covering her ears, but it also makes for a great picture with her surrounded by 4 noisy boys :)
I took the kids up to Olympia to watch Kai's last soccer game in the end of May. We surprised Kai with our visit and got to pick him up from school where we met his teacher and some of his friends, too. I took several pictures from our visit but accidentally deleted them from my camera before uploading them to my computer :( Here is one from a park nearby Kai's school that we took the kids to:
At the soccer game:
Tyce and Shay getting in on the huddle action:
I put the kids in their pj's for the ride home since we didn't leave Olympia until past their normal bedtime. You can see Tumwater High School stadium in the background, which is where I went to high school my freshman year (before Black Hills High School was built). Always fun to be back in my old stomping grounds :)
It's been our routine for me to take the kids for a 5-6 mile jog in the stroller once a week (this is about their limit this year for extended stroller rides), followed by a picnic lunch and playing at the park. One of our favorite routes is around Ft. Vancouver, along the Columbia River waterfront and through downtown. We either end up at Esther Short Park, or in this case, Marshall Park:
Tyce and Shay have fun playing together, no matter where we are. Here, Shaylie is pretending to catch Tyce at the bottom of the slide, which they both thought was hilarious :)
Big boy, Tyce, getting a haircut:
Grandma Jan came for another visit at the beginning of her summer vacation, which also coincided with Father's Day weekend.
Reading books:
Tyce and Shay absolutely adore our little Sydney bean:
Grandma Jan brought up these quilts that my Aunt Pat made for the kids...they are so adorable! Aunt Pat is very talented and we are beyond grateful she enjoys making things for our kiddos!!
Tycen and Shaylie are loving their sandbox this year! Grandma Jan taught them how to bury their own feet, as well as her feet (which quickly became one of their favorite activities):
Grandma Jan brought up these fun, magic coloring books:
Playdo:
Tycen is really into cleaning lately, especially if he can use a spray bottle. When we were loading into the car one day, he grabbed a spray bottle (Windex) and a toilet bowl cleaner from the garage and stated he was going to 'clean' Grandma Jan's car with them (luckily we caught him before his first spray :)
The Saturday before Father's Day was pretty drizzly, but we decided to brave the rain and head into Portland for a ride on the zoo train and a trip to the Rose Garden:
Tycen and Shaylie both have very sensitive ears. The train whistle seemed louder and more frequent on this train ride, so Shaylie made sure to have her ears covered at all times :)
Fun in the rain at the Rose Garden:
Tyce found this rose on the ground and wanted to give it to his sister... Soooo sweet! :)
Who simply smells a rose when you can lick one, too?!
Tycey is always making silly faces in pictures:
'Driving' Grandma Jan's car is always a high-light of the day:
On Grandma Jan's last night, we all went to out to a sushi dinner. This was pretty special, as it was the kids first time having sushi and it is one Scott and my favorite foods.
Tyce was a big fan of the california rolls:
Shaylie liked the edamame, but didn't want to try too much of anything else...maybe next time :)
Grandma Jan took a lot of cute pictures on her last morning here:
We took the kids on a walk along the Columbia River:
Potty break:
Playing at Esther Short Park:
Tyce mastered the fireman pole this spring/summer...he loves it!
As always, we had a great visit with Grandma Jan. We are so blessed that she loves us so much and makes the effort to come visit as often as she possibly can. It's so great to see the special bond between Grandma Jan and Tycen and Shaylie :) We love you!
In the end of June, we went to Faith's 6th birthday party (my cousin, Stacey's daughter). It was at a farm and the kids had a lot of fun with all the activities: petting zoo, bounce house, outdoor games, playground, and more. The only activity they didn't want to be included in was the pony ride, they loved watching Faith, though :)
Petting a velveteen rabbit, one of the softest things I've ever felt!
A few more final random pictures:
Playing on the cars at the mall with our pal, Christopher:
Bubbles!
Well, I realize how ridiculously long this post is. If you hung in there through the whole thing, congratulations :) Just kidding. But in reality, I do this blog of course for all of our family and friends to view, but mainly as an extended baby book for Tycen and Shaylie to have someday....Or, probably most accurately for Scott and I to keep when our kids are all grown up and no longer letting us take loads of pictures of them everyday :)
I just love these two kiddos to pieces and there can never be enough pictures of them! I will do my best to keep all of these special memories locked in my heart and mind for as long as I live, but also know that keeping a record of them will be priceless as the years pass and these 'Random Happenings' are all a very distant memory.
