taking drastic measures & pictures of really cute kids

Can't get enough of those big baby blues & their long, long eyelashes!

Just hanging out in our "new" front yard!
Mommy, Kate & Jackson waiting for the guy to finish cleaning out our vents, etc.
funny face!
Jackson is checking out our flowers
Showing me his favorite one
just another cute face... aren't they all?


Some of the things that we have used to get the "stink" out... sealant
The Ozone Machine... definitely recommended!
yucky mess... but will be worth it in the end!
trailer full of "stink" aka carpet, pad, & window coverings
The guy's cool vacuum truck; the whole back of the truck was a huge vacuum system... see the bags sticking out of the top? Pretty crazy, huh?

A little visit from Tiffany, Maddie & Chloe

Chloe & Kate... Kate's eyes are saying: I want your toy!
"Fine, if you take my toy, I might pull your hair..." and it begins...
Jackson & Maddie jumping off of the "rocks"
And again...
And again...
Planting some flowers, so that it's pleasant to drive up to the house.
Parker supporting me in my need for a morale boost... I sure love him! Maddie's helping too!
Love this pose because I'm so NOT a poser... that's my sister's role.
Pictures are a little blurry... my sister had the camera and she's not familiar with it. I just had to include these though because the kids were being so cute with their little watering cans. They were pretty wet and muddy by the time we left, but they had so much fun.
Kate & Tiffany were playing a little game while we planted the flowers: She would wrap Kate in the burrito wrap and then Kate would squirm her way out of it.
Cousins: Chloe Bug & Baby Kate (in Jackson language: Toey-Bug & Baby Tate)
Their little faces are so funny! It's amazing how quickly their personalities show.
Kate laughing at Tiffany
Before we planted...
Tiffany stopped overnight on her way up to Seattle. It was fun for the kids to play together!

Our baby girl

Isn't she just the sweetest little thing? This picture shows exactly how we all felt today... a little T-I-R-E-D!

Updates...

Here are some updates about us and our most recent "happenings".

Jackson was completely potty trained, day and night by the end of DAY 5. Yeah, not 3 days, but he is only 28 months... and he is a B-O-Y. So, I feel like we did pretty well. I still remind him throughout the day, but he has been SO good at telling us when he has to go. No more diapers; never done pull-ups, etc. Hurray! Saving a little money one potty-trained kid at a time ;-)

Kate: is still working on her first tooth... it's popping up slowly but surely. Poor little thing has finally showed some signs over the last 2 days that teething really is painful. She's such a smiley trooper though. We just love our little Baby Kate! She is speed crawling/gorilla walking everywhere, goes from sitting to standing and back in the blink of an eye, and talks almost all of her waking hours. Kate is getting more and more confident each day walking, but still has a little bit to go (we think).
Parker and I have been busy trying to get our house in order for the new paint and flooring. We tore out the old (STINKY) flooring and scrubbed every last wall, appliance, fixture, switch cover, you name it, we scrubbed it! (Thank you to the inventors and distributors of 409--we bought the huge jugs & refilled our spray bottles--and that nice lady who gave the suggestion to use 409 on some website that was included in the results of my Google search. Worked wonders!) Then, we taped up the inside to be ready to apply the first coat of primer/sealer.
Also, we weren't able to recruit family to help this time, but did have the help of some good friends who definitely deserve to be named and applauded for their RIGOROUS, LABORIOUS, and STINKY work: Thank you to Maurine, Andrew, Jordan & Rachel!
We would still be scrubbing if it weren't for you guys! Thanks for making the trip and for all your hard work! And thank you to Jordan for putting your life in danger just to clean those 'hard to reach' places!
The kids have been SO patient through all of this. They already love to go to "the stinky house" as Jackson calls it (hopefully, he stops referring to our house as the stinky house after we get it looking like a new house... and doesn't stink anymore). The yard is fun to play in and the neighborhood has great sidewalks to ride a 3-wheeler and stroll a stroller. That's what we did tonight while Parker applied primer to the inside of the house. We're making some progress little by little. It's late and I'm exhausted, so that's all for now. I will have to add pictures later and include the ladder saga that continues to unfold with the owners/inheritors of the house we're buying... kind of funny.

sleep... at least someone (the kids) is getting some!

Our happy little Kate... she is SO smiley! This is how she wakes up in the mornings... just like her Daddy.
Jackson takes after me when it comes to waking up. It's a toss up, depending on the quality and length of the sleep time and what we have to look forward to when we wake up. I just love these little baseball jammies! Can't wait to see him in his first t-ball uniform!

still busy, and life goes on

This is about what life has felt like lately... Parker and I have been referring to our new home as the "construction zone" because that's kind of what it feels like. However, it's nice to own and to be able to have saved so much money. Little by little, things are coming along!
We are so happy that Spring is here, but the kids and I are already dreading the summer heat. We must all have that Seattle blood running through our veins (we prefer cool/warm weather and don't tolerate the heat well)
These are the views we will miss after we move, but it has been fun over the past 6 months to watch the seasons change right before our eyes.


Another silly Kate face
She looks so pensive here... is that a word in English? Well, it is in Portuguese. Anyway, not sure what she is thinking about.
Jackson wearing Mommy's sunglasses... silly Jackson!
More of Kate... she holds still for the camera more often than Jackson, so I guess that's why there are more pictures of her.
Actually, it really doesn't have much to do with the camera, it has everything to do with her sitting in one place while there is food to be eaten.
Uh-oh! Jackson is beginning to police Kate in all of her wrong-doings. This is one of her favorite chores lately... re-organizing the bookshelf.



Here is Jackson telling her that "we can't take those books; those are only for Mommy and Daddy... no, no, no Baby Tate". Thanks, Deputy Jackson!

Faces... and Kate's first tooth... FINALLY!!!

Happy girl! Kate gets more and more animated everyday. She is hilarious... and she knows it!



We must have done something right because you wouldn't hardly know that Kate has been teething, except for the excess drool all over her. She is ALWAYS (no exaggeration) in a happy, smiley/giggly mood and has been sleeping like a little lamb. Jackson was different. His eating and sleeping habits changed drastically whenever a tooth was coming in. And it didn't really seem to bother Kate that she had no teeth. She eats just about everything by "chewing" it up with her super-strong gums. No kidding! The other night, she ate dinner with us (I wish I could say the same for Jackson), lasagna, bread, peas, carrots; she eats rice and beans, cold cereal, graham crackers, etc. The girl loves to eat, what can I say? Anyway, now she will finally have a tooth to bite into some things with. You can't really see it, but as you're looking at her mouth, it's on the bottom right. She was NOT happy that I was trying to look into her mouth. (Like her big brother, Kate doesn't like to be held down.)