Berry Picking

We are so lucky to live near amazing farms!  Yesterday we went to pick raspberries.  I took the kids partly because they were driving me crazy and wanted them out of the house and partly because I loved to pick berries when i was younger and thought they would too.  I was right!   They loved it.  Will especially found joy in finding *the perfect* raspberry.  We picked 10 pounds in about 45 minutes.  The bushes were overflowing with berries!  Once the kids got their stomach full, they played hide and go seek in the bushes.  So cute.  
Will's perfect berry

Cherry pie for Papa!

We have this cherry tree in our backyard and up until this year we've let the squirrels and birds eat the fruit. This year I decided that I'd harvest a bit of it and try my luck at a cherry pie. It's my dad's birthday tomorrow and he likes cherry pie so it was the perfect occasion. I started this afternoon by picking the hand picking the cherries. I had to take the pits out by hand too. I searched the Internet for a recipe - I'll post it tomorrow after I taste it! When I found one, i got to work. Rob headed out the door with Will for a haircut and Addison was going to go along. I thought briefly about 60 minutes of peace and quiet before I heard the garage door open and Addison crying in the background. She wasn't so happy about being without me, so...back she came. We baked the pie together which was a ton of fun.





I started cooking with Will when he was really young. He loves it even today, particularly chocolate chip cookie dough that he can eat right from the bowl. Addison loved cooking. She mixed the bowl and ate from the bowl too. It was really cute. We finised up the night with a bath in the kitchen sink-the second of the day. She likes having someone right at her level and the sink makes it a perfect playing situation.




Check out the fingernail polish - her "pretties" as she calls them.  They match her toes.  And she loves them.  What fun it is to have a little girl to hang out with!!!  

A few things I love about Will!

I've been gone in Vegas for the last couple of days and spent some time organizing our pictures from the last few months. This post includes pictures from a lunch out at McMenamins in Hillsboro a few months back.

Why I Love Will:
1. He is a curious little boy that never stops exploring. He is always looking for new things, curious about how stuff works, and asking lots of questions. I love that he loves to learn.

2. That we can have conversations together. Like REAL conversations, where he talks, I listen...I talk, he listens. most of the time we agree, sometimes we don't and then we laugh. Right now he's into doing this "ummm" thing where he pauses for just a second before responding. It is so cute.
3. he LOVES his dad. I am never right when dad is around. never. Will loves everything about Rob, it's so cute.

4. His goofy smile and the few hairs that stick up on the top of his head.

5. he'll wear whatever I put on him, as long as it doesn't have buttons or zippers. He calls them "stretchy pants" and much to the disappoint of his aunt, this leaves him less than fashion forward!
6. He still acts like an innocent little boy. I sometimes feel like we've protected him too much. He often tells me "Mommy, we don't like guns do we..." Or "I'm a little scared of the dark mom, but I'll try hard to be brave!" or "I love you so much _____ (fill in the blank)
7. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals. They are all dogs. And up until recently, there were 5 of them. The brown one has been thrown to the corner because he SWEARS he saw a spider on it a few weeks ago. I've washed it 3 times and he still doesn't want anything to do with it.
8. He loves Addison and is overly protective of her-like he makes sure that she is on the inside of the sidewalk so that she won't fall off the curb.
9. He still dances to Curious George in the morning. I love that he loves Curious George still, but he dances to the music at the beginning almost every morning. In fact, he looks forward to it. Isn't that cute?!
10. He still my little baby. Sometimes, when dad's not around, I can get him to snuggle up to me. I tell him all about how I used to rock him to sleep. It seems like forever ago!