Father's Day

We went camping at Nehalem Bay for father's day. It was our first camping trip with Lyla and our first trip out in our new camper. We had the dogs with us. I had this weekend off from the market and we left on Saturday morning all packed up. The dogs rode in the back of the truck, Lyla in the truck backseat and 5000 more things than we ever needed packed everywhere else. We headed two hours out to the coast and set up shop at our campsite. Lyla did great almost the whole ride. She woke up the last twenty minutes and was hungry. We ended up stopping to get her situated before we headed into the park.

We just hung out on Saturday and got situated. We quickly realized that this trip was not going to be relaxing in any way shape or form. The trip was super fun but it was WORK. Everything was so new. It did feel good to engage my thought process in a new way though- it was nice to get out of the routine of life for a few days.

We got up super early on Sunday to a rainy father's day. I couldn't have been more happy at that very moment to have a travel trailer. Lyla and I gave Matt a few little gifts that morning as we all sat around in our jammies having a great moment together. It was quite cozy with the pups in their too but that made it all the more festive. Once the rain ended we packed the whole family up and the five of us headed down to the beach.



It was really nice to be able to hang out in the evening with Matt around a campfire. Nice to just chat and spend time together. We had a really nice trip. We are already planning ways to make our next camping trip even more smooth. This is definitely one of those trips that I will remember forever.

The open road

Our new toy for the summer.

Look who's excited for summer...

Everything seems to make this little girl happy. Her personality is coming out more and more. She notices more these days. She will drop something on the floor and then look for it. She understands hide and seek. We sit her in her crib and then drop down to where she can't see then hop up and surprise her. She loves it. She trys to look over the edge and then gets over the moon excited when we hop up. Honestly, it is great exercise too- 50 squats later, we are both tired of the game. So fun to constantly discover new ways to entertain, play and teach. Everything looks just a little different to me these days... a little more fun.

6 Months

Lyla turned six months on May 30th. We took her in for her wellness visit last Monday. She is 14lb 12oz (30th percentile) and 24.5 inches (17th percentile). She is just a little girl. She is meeting all of her milestones. She has rolled over, is repeating sounds, can sit unassisted and play and is transferring objects from hand to hand.

She has eaten rice cereal, carrots and sweet potatoes so far. Up next is avocado and bananas. She loves eating. She is completely engaged the whole time and pulls the spoon into her mouth. Too fun.

I can't even begin to explain what a wonderful addition Lyla Belle is to our family. Matt and I still do the same activities we did pre-Lyla but now there is a new focus. A more important focus. She has added so much laughter and spirit to our lives. Perfection.

Hold the oats please...

Lyla seems to be changing by the minute these days. She finally rolled over from her front to back and is quickly on the move to roll from her back to her front. She is getting up onto her side and reaching. She has another tooth coming in- that makes three now. We made the move to give her rice cereal this past Sunday and she loved it. She has been reaching for our food and just showing a lot of interest in what we are eating. We decided it was time. No complaints out of her. We are going to go rice cereal for a week and then move to either carrots or butternut squash next. We are going to make all of our baby food since the market has started. No reason not to take advantage of fresh local organic food.

Lyla still sleeps through the night. She is a pretty happy baby and plays a lot. She loves music. It always seems to be on in our house. Matt also takes her to a music class once a week where they sign and play instruments. She does a lot of watching since she is the youngest there but she really seems to be taking it all in. She could watch Charlie and Alice all day. She has discovered that we have a rabbit. She loves to be outside. Everything rights itself in her world once the slider opens and we go outside. She is reaching for everything. As we walk around with her, her little arms are just swinging to grab anything. It is pretty funny.

Dog Days

I am in love with this time of year. So happy to be in our house with our own yard. The puppies are filled with delight as they trapse around the yard. Alice brings all her toys and a few of Charlies outside each day and works hard to get someone to chase her. If only she knew that Lyla is going to be on the move one day. These puppies have no idea what is about to come. It has been warm enough to get Charlies' pool out, which he loves. Anything to make my sweet wise old soul Charlie Muppets happy.

Alice Mae turns 3

Alice Mae had a birthday on May 3rd- she turned 3. Of course we had a party for her and she was pretty excited. Alice has chilled considerably as she has gotten a little older. Nice to see. She is just about the sweetest little girl. She still has moments of puppy that come out mostly playing in the yard.