Easter Weekend

Travis and Jeanie came down from Seattle for Easter weekend, primarily because I am pretty much the only one in the family who hadn't met Jewell yet. She is an adorable little baby! Plus, it's always more fun at holidays to be around family. Friday was mostly spent chilling, though Mr N and I managed to give more money to Target. Saturday the boys went fishing. Jeanie and I ventured to the bookstore with 2.5 children. Jewell doesn't like driving in town, but everything went fine. I picked up a Rachael Ray 30-minute meals cookbook, since most of the recipes I make right now take about an hour, and I just don't think I'll be up to that once I have the baby.

When Mr N and Travis got home, we had the Easter egg hunt. (Sunday's forecast was rain, plus it just fit better with our schedule.)




Miss E quickly caught on to the whole idea, as you can see from the above picture!



I loved snuggling up with little Jewell, who is such a sweetie. She is almost two months old in this picture. And yes, she has red hair! Her dad is blond, her mom is brunette. Not sure about the postman...



Miss E sizing up the baby. She actually did pretty well around her, and with coaching would pat Jewell on the head, or point out her body parts. She does however have no concept of being quiet when the baby is sleeping, which will probably be an issue once Baby #2 is born.


Here are the girls in their cute Easter dresses. Um, yeah, totally lousy shot of Jewell's. I think Travis has a better one on his blog. In fact, also lousy one of Miss E's. Oh well. It's cute, take my word for it. It has a little bunny and many flowers. Courtesy of Grandma J! Thanks!

Sunday afternoon Mr N's parents were able to come over. (They are spending spring break in Seaside.) So Grandma N got to be entertained by her active toddler granddaughter, and hold her serene baby granddaughter.


I love this picture - she looks so absolutely innocent.

Dinner turned out quite well. Everyone helped, which was great, since, you know, I am eight months pregnant. We had a glazed half ham, steamed asparagus, salad, and crusty French bread. Mr N's parents brought New York cheesecake and fresh strawberries for a delicious dessert.

Travis, Jeanie & Jewell left around 3 pm so they could make it back to Seattle at a decent hour. After they left, Miss E switched into major "show off" mode, which was hilarious. Her grandparents have mostly just seen her at their house, where she is reserved and clingy due to the unfamiliar surroundings. In the comfort of her own home, she really turned on the charm.


And decided Mr N's socks would be an awesome accessory.



This Easter was very enjoyable! It was certainly more fun than if had just been Mr N, Miss E and me.

Gleneden Beach

Last week we had the opportunity to go to Gleneden Beach for a couple days. We had a really fantastic time. I think it might have been the best mini-vacation we have ever had! We arrived Thursday night and tucked Miss E into bed. Our room had a fabulous ocean view! The ocean was very rough and the surf was so loud. Our suite was very nice - 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, with a fireplace, full kitchen, and of course that marvelous view.

Friday morning dawned blustery but sunny! (Those of you from the Northwest know what a miracle it is to have a sunny day in March.) Mr N made bacon, eggs & toast for breakfast. Yum-may. Then we headed out to the beach.

Miss E fears no elements. With her trusty sippy cup, she was ready for whatever came her way!

Miss E and I pause in our meanderings for a photo op.

We tested Miss E to see how far away she would get from us. The answer was pretty darn far! The beach was pretty much deserted, which had something to do with it. If lots of strangers are around, Miss E hangs closer to her parents. She didn't want to get very close to the ocean at all. (Previously, at Pacific City, she waded right in and got soaked.) I think that was because the ocean was so rough and loud at Gleneden that weekend.

Action shot!

Back at our room, Mr N and I settled into patio chairs to enjoy the view and the surf sounds. Miss E found a puddle nearby and splashed in it until her shoes, socks and pants were very muddy. Toddler heaven!

After Miss E's nap, we went to Tidal Raves for a late lunch. It's heavy on the seafood, so Mr N had a hard time finding something to eat. But my vegetable stir fry with salmon skewers was very good. Then we headed up to Lincoln City to go to the outlets, where we found some great deals on clothes for the kids.

Saturday morning Mr N had to leave inhumanly early for work, so Miss E and I checked out around 9. We picked up Mr N from the house back in town and went out to breakfast! Where Miss E ate only grapes!

We had such a great time together as a little family. We wanted to make this trip while we were still a family of three. We had such fun that we are hoping to squeeze one more mini-vacation in before Baby #2 arrives, but who knows if we'll be able. His due date is just one month away. So sometime in the next six weeks, our family will grow to four.

Miss E: 21.5 Months

Miss E is 21.5 months old, impossibly fun and adorable, and learning new things so quickly it makes my head spin. She knows and says tons of words. Much to my delight, she just added her first verb to her vocabulary this morning - "sing" - a command to me to entertain her with whatever songs I can think of. Most of her words are nouns ("beebee" baby, "kow-kow" color/crayons) or interjectives ("ow," "uh-oh"). She is really increasing in comprehension which is so neat to watch. I do have to be careful and keep my sentences short or she gets lost. She is newly obsessed with babies, which I think is convenient, since one is about to move into our house full-time!


Miss E makes this made-up sign for sleeping when she wants to go down for a nap. Which is cool! She also makes this sign when she is bored, or cranky, or wants to be held, or something isn't going her way. Which is not as cool, but still cute.


Fun poufy dress from my mom. Miss E likes to fluff up the many layers. She also likes that there are flowers ("fow-fow") around the waist. She prefers to be wearing flowers at all times.

Thanks for the pretty dress, Grandma J!


Putting her shoes on by herself. On the wrong feet, natch.

(Note flowers on shirt AND pants.)

Miss E goes through weird food phases. In November and December, she practically lived on mandarin oranges. In January and February she was obsessed with cheese (Tillamook only, thank you very much). Now she wants nothing to do with oranges or cheese. She is currently grooving on apples, chicken nuggets (gag), dried cranberries, graham crackers, prunes (I am so not kidding), and Frosted Mini Wheats. I can pretty much only get her to eat vegetables if they are hidden in a casserole or soup.



Coloring the newspaper. And sometimes the table.



Here is Miss E wearing a dress Grandma N made for her before she was even born! Doesn't she look cute! She loooooves that it's covered in little flowers. Dh bought her this purse - a Hello Kitty purse in a shocking pick color, with pink leopard-print handle. She carries it all over the place. In this picture, she is also wearing my heels. She is shaping up to be a girly girl, and I am thrilled! This morning she refused pants. She wanted to wear a skirt. Yay!

Comparing the Bellies

Here are comparisons of my belly in each pregnancy. On the left are pictures from April 2005, when I was about 7.5 months pregnant with Miss E. On the right are pictures from last night, 7.5 months pregnant with Baby #2. I am a bit bigger this time. Less than six weeks left!

Mr N and Miss E's Trip to Eastern Oregon

For a recap of their weekend, go here.

Two Cuties

These two cousins sure are cute!!! Little Jewell makes Miss E look very big!