A fun project for kids...

Found this at Wal-mart; Grace loves it! They have other ones too, they're all great! Especially for moms like me who aren't very creative at craft time...

KinderKord... No match for the boy!

I always said I would never use a "leash" with my kids... then Nathaniel came along. Try as I might, however, he proves any leash futile. Those of you who know Nathaniel at all, you know that he is very busy and fast. He can be right by my side one second and the next second be half way across a parking lot in someone else's car. So when I decided to go to the fair last week, I thought an investment in a new "leash" would be prudent and wise (Afterall, I'd rather have a kid that is tied to me vs. a lost or abducted kid). Having tried many other "leashes" on the market with no success, I went to Babies 'R Us and bought the mother of all leashes - KINDERKORD - A safe way to stay connected. Yes, it has the mother of all price tags, too! The box said, "You'll wonder how you ever managed without it!"

Anyway, dreaming of how it would solve all my problems, I pulled it out at the fair. I placed one of the wrist bands on the boy, one on me and we were connected with the retractable cord! I was ready for a fun, safe day at the fair. Nathaniel instantly undid his wrist band and promptly threw it on the ground. Greeeaat. I attached it to his back belt loop, and he was obessed with getting it off. He kept twisting his body around to try to take it off. No walking was happening. When I did pull him along, his pants twisted around. Once he realized he couldn't take it off his pants, he came directly over to me and undid my wrist strap. So much for KINDERKORD!!! I'm beginning to think leashes are for kids who don't run away anyway...

Adventures in Portland Sept. 9-12

The Oregon Zoo

On Thursday mama mustered up the energy to take the kids to the zoo. Grace was very excited. Our hotel was right near the MAX line (light rail in Portland), so we hopped on and rode the MAX for about 30 minutes until we got to the zoo. It is really cool, because the zoo stop is underground; you get off in this big tunnel, ride a huge elevator up and it lets you out right smack in front of the zoo gates! We loved the zoo - it had so many animals that our zoo at home doesn't have. We saw zebras, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, bats, and much more. The highlight for mama and Grace was definitely the brand new baby elephant though! He was only 3 weeks old and so cute! Nathaniel wasn't that impressed. We got to watch him walk around and nurse - did you know elephants nurse through their trunks??!!!

Feeding the Lorakeets - Nathaniel loved this! They are such beautiful birds. Grace was scared.

Oak's Amusement Park

On Wednesday we went to this cool old amusement park in Portland. On Wednesday mornings they do a preschool play thing where you pay $6/child (adults are free) and get unlimited rides on the little kid rides. Then they have a storytime and milk and cookies. It's a great deal! I wish they had something like that here at home. Nathaniel wasn't so impressed...

But the carousel and big huge slide was a hit with both the kids. They also had fun mirrors to look in, all the typical little kid rides and a roller coaster that was labeled "kiddy" coaster, but let me tell you - it wasn't so "kiddy". Someone I lost my sanity momentarily, and thought that I could ride it with the kids, despite being 34 weeks pregnant. Can't believe they let me on the stupid thing! I guess I figured - how bad can a kiddy coaster be? Well, Grace picked the front car and the belt thing didn't really hold me in since my belly was so big. The whole time I seriously felt like I was going to fall out and it went so fast! I felt sick after that, but the baby is fine. Grace loved it! In fact, she loved all the rides and couldn't get enough! When we went to the fair, I let Grandpa ride the coaster with Grace!

September updates...

It's hard to believe September is half over already! We have been busy this month. The first part of September, John went to Austin, TX for work for a few days. While he was gone, we kept busy with our first HFG (Home Fellowship Group) of the Fall, a doctor's appointment for me, and a fun berry picking outing at Ft. Steilacoom Park with Tiff and Cooper.

The next week, Sept. 9-12, we went with Papa to Hillsboro, OR cause he had to work there. It was fun to stay in a hotel, eat out and enjoy some of the kid-friendly options in Portland. Although we did miss Papa since he ended up working 16 hour days! See the next post for more info!

Nathaniel has also been going to speech therapy once a week for the last couple of months. He loves going to see Miss Julie and we've seen some progress. Just yesterday he said "Sa Sa" while doing the sign for "sorry". He also says "ball" (before it was just "all"), "chicken", "all done", animal sounds and a few other things. The progress is slow, but steady and we are grateful for each new word! Meanwhile, he has mastered numerous signs which has helped in daily life.

Mama also goes to weekly therapy - physical therapy that is for my back/sciatica pain that has mostly gone away. But I get to keep going - I love the massage part of the therapy!

Last week everyone but mama got an icky cold, but we're all healthy again now. We went to the Fair on Friday the 19th with Grandpa and had a great time. The kids loved seeing the farm animals and drinking the free chocolate milk.

John & Shari Escape daily life; kid free!

Back in August (Aug. 28-30), we got away! It has been over a year since we've gone somewhere overnight together, just the two of us. We had a great time! We rode the Victoria Clipper to Victoria, B.C. and pretty much did nothing for two days. It was fun to look in all the little shops, especially the bookstores, which we both enjoyed. Besides that we really only slept (uninterrupted, praise God!) and ate! Thanks so much to Grandma Dodge, Grandma Schock and cousins Heather, Tristan & Zach for taking care of our kidlets while we were gone!