Summer Times

We have a photo of Greta on the bed like this when she was Therese's age, so I thought it was fun to see the girls sitting like that together.
Sisters!
Therese fell asleep in the carrier and stayed asleep when we took her out of it and put her on the bed. Greta used to sleep just like this too! But I must say, Therese is a MUCH better napper than Greta was as a baby...she takes long ones and barely needs any help to go to sleep. Greta was my 45 minute--must be carried in the sling the whole time or else--napper. Therese basically needs a relatively quiet and calm place and she'll just sleep--sometimes for 3 hours!
Happy Father's Day!


Since our home is pretty small, Therese often takes her naps in the bathroom in her car seat or bouncy chair (unless we're out and about, then she sleeps in the Baby Bjorn carrier). It's cool, quiet and dark in the bathroom and she usually sleeps really well in there!
A couple days ago we returned from a 10 day visit to Washington. Our first stop was at the home of our dear friends Curtis and Julia. They recently had another baby too--Briar Jane--born a month or so before Therese. Here are the two girls hanging out together.
Coincidentally they were color coordinated that day!
Greta had a blast playing with Lillian in the pool in the backyard! During the rest of our trip she mentioned it several times. It's too bad we're not neighbors :-(
Our next stop on the way to my dad's was at Melissa and Kristen's to see our nieces Ida and Poppy, now about 14 months old. Here's Poppy. Her head is still healing from the intensive skull surgery she had in April (a day before Therese's birth actually)--she was born with her plates fused together and so the doctors had to separate them to make room for her brain to grow. She is a little sweetie.
Auntie Lissa--as Greta calls her--with her new niece.
And here is our other dear, sparkling niece Ida with her parents.
We stayed with my dad and Linda for 4 nights.
Jenny came over for a couple of visits and here she is with Therese. These two really bonded on our trip. Therese really mellowed out with Aunt Jenny in the evening when she is often quite fussy! Jenny didn't want to let her go!
Therese on her first swing ride ever--at Nana Judy's. Therese is actually a really smiley baby, but she looks rather serious here doesn't she?
The beautiful view Therese had from Nana Judy's deck!
My mom and Shayne came for a visit while we were at Hans and Judy's. We walked down to the beach.
On the beach with Nana Kaka.
Greta and Grandpa Shayne.
Great Grandma Hope and Therese meeting for the first time at my dad's church in Dupont. Matthew had the privilege of preaching there--it was quite a family affair!
Greta in an adorable dress from Nana Judy--on the 4th of July. Sadly our two little Canadians missed Canada Day and were forced to celebrate America's independence instead! :-)
Therese, Great Grandma Hope, and Great Aunt Debbie.
Out on the deck swing with Grandma Linda and Adda Dan (as Greta calls him!) A sweet picture! I'm kicking myself for not taking more pictures on this trip--Hans and Judy took us all to the zoo and everything (Greta's first time--Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma) and I didn't even manage to get pictures there! Silly.
The girls with Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dalton.
Sweet Grandma Hope and I at my dad's on the 4th.
On our way back to Vancouver we stopped at the home of our friends Natalie and Ben. It was a beautiful summer day and we enjoyed lunch together and Greta had a fantastic time playing in the sprinklers before the rest of our drive home.
Greta helped water Natalie's plants, which she loved.
Getting warmed up with Papa!
Natalie and Therese.
Also, this picture gives you a glimpse of how incredibly cute Natalie and Ben's house is! Our whole trip we stayed or visited people in HOUSES--not tiny apartments. When we returned home our place seemed so small to us! And Greta keeps saying (I mean, literally, at least a couple times a day): "Someday Greta have a house too!" Ok, so the majority of the world lives in places smaller and less nice than ours, so we are definitely grateful and it definitely works, but having a house would be so wonderful!!! I just have to keep telling myself, "Someday we'll have a house too" :-)
Natalie painted Greta's toenails--I wish she lived down the street too so we could visit more often (and maybe even get some babysitting our of her? Greta would LOVE that!)

Therese is Two Months

Our beautiful girl on her 2 month birthday!


She's a much chubbier baby than Greta ever was...look at those cheeks!
We are discovering more and more that Greta is a very sensitive soul. She cries sometimes if Therese is crying, and if anyone ever bothers her out on the playground she needs mama's lap right away!!! However, she is still a very tough girl in other ways...she doesn't cry easily if she bonks into something or falls down, and yes, she continues to go barefoot everywhere. She is such a loving and sweet big sister!

I wanted to capture the reddish birth mark Therese has on the back of her head before her hair covers it up for good!
Therese likes this game.

Happy birthday little baby!

Summer is Coming!

Greta is really into going down the slide at the park lately. She goes up and down over and over and over again! Also, she is on a shoe-strike. She always takes her shoes off once we get to the park. I've decided not to fight it anymore--her feet get really grimy, and tough too!
My mom came for a visit over the weekend. What a cute picture this is!
Therese is getting so big!
Lying on Greta's big girl bed with penguin in the background...

Greta is so sweet with Therese. I'm able to trust her more and more to be gentle and not squish her. She gives her so many kisses and just this morning was lying with Therese reading to her and laughing!


We got Greta a new swimsuit the other day in anticipation of the summer weather that we're waiting for. Here she is modeling her pool-look for us. We are looking forward to spending a lot of time at the pool down the street over the summer!
Great Grandma Hope got the girls matching outfits. It's cheesy...but SO ADORABLE too!

A couple weekends ago it was really sunny and warm. We spent the morning at the beach.
Vancouver is really a beautiful place to live.
This girl likes to get MESSY!

Me and my girls :-)

The Many Faces of Therese

This little outfit is so cute on Therese! She's such a little doll :-)

Sorry it's been such a long time since the last post--things have been busy around here! Matthew has been really busy with school, and life with a toddler and a newborn is certainly quite different from life with just one!
Therese is quite expressive with her face!
Playing with Mama.
Getting chubby!
Sitting on the couch like a big girl.
Greta hasn't had enough "Papa Days" lately because he has been so busy. But recently they got to have a whole day together, and she was in heaven!! (so was he...)
Sweet baby.
Therese used to look a bit frightened whenever Greta came around--because Greta loves to smother her with love...but now more often than not Therese greets Greta with a smile and anticipation! They are good friends already :-)
This little outfit is adorable on Therese too.
Strong girl!
Therese has rolled over from her stomach to her back a couple of times already.
She can scoot herself off of the blanket sometimes!
Determined--just like her big sister!
Tummy time together.



Therese smiles pretty often and seems very sociable already--it's so fun! Sometimes she gets a bit overlooked, with our demanding toddler around--but then when I finally pick her up and make eye contact with her she looks at me with such a big smile saying "Oh it's so nice to see you!"
A little glimmer of some of the table manners we deal with...someday she'll eat properly and also listen to us more often than not...right?? She is spunky and full of personality--and she is quite a chatterbox too!
Our very stylish little bookworm :- )