Zoo Boat and Monthly Birthdays

Hello, handsome boy! Zion turned 22 months on the 16th! We are close to having a two-year old on our hands, folks! And this little patootie turned 8 months on the 16th! She is sitting up on her own now and is so, so, so cute! Love those soft arms!

Hi, kiddies!

We visited the Pittock Mansion in NW Portland. It was interesting to see a bit of Portland history.

Just a cute picture of Eden.

Wave to Zion!

Nice smile, baby!

Heath's show, Zoo Boat, set sail this past weekend. It was a hit, I am glad to report! Look at all the cute animals that were aboard his show. We are glad that this big project is behind us, but are happy about the impact it had on the kids in his afterschool program.

We got a new tow-behind from some friends a couple weekends ago and are loving it. The kids like it too. They are so precious all cuddled next to each other.

March Already??

Morning, Zion!

My sleeping beauty. She sometimes falls asleep in her swing after dinner and before bed. What kissable cheeks those are!

Dad and Zion working in the backyard.

Eden's first bath in the bathtub.

Eden swinging in the park.

Hi, friends. Can you believe it is March already?! I love the flowers coming up and the blooming cherry trees! It is so refreshing.

Heath is also back out in our yard making it pretty. He does such a good job with it! It will be fun when Zion can just toddle out back and play out there. Still a bit wet and muddy for that, but we're getting there. He does like to "help" Heath in the backyard, though. I guess he kept eating mud and dirt and coming up to Heath saying, "Yucky. No food," with a mouth full of it. Glad I wasn't there to see that. I keep having to remind myself that he is a boy and that is normal.

Eden had her first bath tub bath yesterday while the boys were out in the backyard. She was non-plussed about the situation and just wanted to chew on the toys. I think she is cutting some teeth on the bottom because she is cranky for no reason sometimes. She has a well-baby check tomorrow so we'll see what the doctor has to say about that.

My friend, Rachel, found out last week that she is having TWIN BOYS! They are so excited! Yay for Rach and Jake!

21 and 7 Months Today

Today the kiddies celebrated their monthly birthdays. Zion is now 21 months--almost two years old already! And Eden turned 7 months. They are such good kids. We are truly blessed to be their parents! Lord, thanks for the blessing of being able to parent Zion and Eden! We love them so much.

Firsts

Our little Eden had her first ride in the shopping cart yesterday. Can I just say. . .I LOVE COSTCO! And God bless them for having the ginormous cart that seats TWO little ones! I went over there yesterday to get a couple items and decided to try Eden out in the cart. She loved it! It was so fun seeing her right there beside Zion. He loved it too. He kept putting his arm around her and his head on her shoulder. What a pair they are! She isn't quite sitting up on her own yet, but did just fine all strapped into the Costco cart. I just can't tell you how cute her little legs were in her pink tights kick, kick, kicking from the seat of the cart. What an absolute doll!

She also recently took her first swing ride in the park. I am sorry to say I haven't yet documented that on film yet. But I will remember to take my camera to the park eventually. We even went there today (because how beautiful was today's weather!) for a walk and some play time. Zion hates leaving the park. He is starting to enter the "terrible twos", I'm afraid.

Sorry about the lack of pictures this time!

January 2010

Here is Eden getting her grub on. She loves food! Our boy on the stairs.

The kids playing together.

Nothing like Dad time!

Heath playing with Eden during meal time.

Not much to report for January. The kids are growing like weeds--Eden is almost sitting up and Zion is chatting away! They are getting so big!

Happy New Year!

Here is Zion last Christmas. Only child. Just starting to move around and making only polite messes. What a handsome little guy! (7 months old)Here he is this Christmas! Still handsome, but with more hair and teeth and the ability to make a MASSIVE mess in nine seconds flat! (19 months)But this Christmas, we also added another little bundle to our family! Here is Eden at 5 months old. She is such a cutie! So big in her exersaucer.Zion is so sweet to her. Always giving her hugs and kisses, whether she wants them or not! You can certainly tell they are siblings in this picture, huh!? My wonderful babies!I'm innocent, mom, I swear!


Oops, she caught me on film!
Here we are on Christmas day at the Cloutiers' house.

Eden is now 5 1/2 months old and she has started showing us signs of being hungry. So I started her on some rice cereal a few days ago. She doesn't really care one way or the other about it. Here are her first bites of food. Zion's first experience with snow. He loved playing in it and eating it.

What a Month!

A close-up of Miss Eden Belle's cute cheeks and pretty eyes! Zion sporting his "hat".

Zion giving Eden some love. He's not going to know what to do when she forms an opinion of his love!

Eden's cute body.

"I love my play mat!"

I'm 4 months old today!

I'm 18 months old today and I have a fantastic grin on my face in this picture!

Heath going in the stage door for his concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. A door only "the chosen" get a chance to use!

Not sure how Zion got part of his sandwich ON his head while eating it. Funny boy!

Eden with her great grandma on Thanksgiving.

Whew! Every month I say to myself, "Self, you are going to blog more this month." Then the month slips by in a blind frenzy of breastfeeding (only one hand for typing--annoying to type with only one hand!), whirlwind weekends (no time for typing), and play dates (again, not typing/blogging friendly situations). So here we are already in December. December!? And I have to admit, I have taken down the fall/Thanksgiving decorations, but haven't gotten out the Christmas ones yet. Not even a Christmas CD yet! Heath even mentioned our lack of holiday cheer around here the other day. I told him I had to wait for the bug to bite me. So I'm just going to wait!

Anyway, the kiddos are doing well. Fighting colds and pink eye, but they are as cute as ever and growing so fast! They are now 18 months (Zion) and 4 months (Eden). Zion is chatting up a storm--real words! It is so fun to watch him learn and absorb the world around him. And he is entering the terrible two phase. Isn't this too early??!! Eden is so cute and interactive. She gives us the sweetest smiles and loves to be cuddled. I love her little chubby legs in tights. What a joy she is to us!

Heath had his first concert with the Portland Symphonic Choir and the Schnitzer. It's always been his dream to perform on stage there--that old, charmingly-ornate-musty smelling concert hall. They performed Brahms' German Requiem and it was pretty entertaining. (I was glad I had forgotten my magazine to occupy myself while at the concert at home!)

Thanksgiving was fun with the Meier side this year. Always good to see my brother and his family. I made a pumpkin cheesecake that was to die for! It looked and tasted like something they would have had at The Cheesecake Factory. Yummy!

Well, better get going. Hopefully the holiday season will catch up to me soon so I can pull out the decorations, deck out a tree, wrap presents, and join the rest of the world!