Medford, Oregon

We left for Medford, Oregon at 7:45 Thursday morning and we knew we had a full day of driving ahead of us. It is a six hour drive, but time is always added when you're traveling with two children. I must say that the drive was quite nice and very beautiful! Will did great - he travels very well now that he can read books, look out the window, talk, sing, and watch movies. Lauren did better than expected. She only cried for a little while, and mostly because she was hungry or tired. She slept a lot of the way (which was great) and I just sat in the back between the two car seats for most of the ride and entertained the kids. We arrived in Medford at 5:00 and we went straight to see my Grandma Niedermuller. Grandma is 91 (She and Lauren have the same birthday!) and she looks great! She is so healthy and we think she'll make it to 100!!! She recently moved to Medford because my Aunt Fran (Dad's sister) and Uncle Danny moved there to retire, though Aunt Fran still works in Reno. Aunt Fran and Uncle Danny met us at Grandma's for dinner and we all ate and talked. It was wonderful for Grandma to meet her great-grandchildren. Will loved to play with Cindy - Grandma's poodle. Will has a thing for dogs!

We went back to Uncle Danny and Aunt Fran's house and we stayed there for the rest of the week/weekend. Will loved it there! They live on 20 acres up in the hills outside of Medford. He loved to walk around outside and explore their wildlife. They have turtles, hummingbirds, snakes, bunnies, and cows in a nearby pasture. Will also loved playing with their 5 dogs - and Stanley seemed to be the one he picked on the entire time. The picture above is Will feeding Molly the turtle. He fed her roses, strawberries, and alfalfa. They move pretty fast for turtles!

On Friday we went out to lunch on the river and then the kids got to go down and play in the river. It was a bit cold, so we didn't stay too long. I was surprised how long Will actually stayed in the water! There was a park next to the river and Will enjoyed playing in the tire there. He didn't really venture out to the other parts of the park, he just stayed in the tire. He spent most of his time at the park inside this tire. I don't know what was so fascinating about it, but it was nearly impossible to get him out of it. Lauren loved getting into the tire, too. It was a great little park.

We spent a good deal of our time in Oregon just hanging out at the "farm." Farmer Pickles (Uncle Danny) took Grandma and Lauren for a ride in his tractor. Will decided that he's ride in the tractor when he gets a little bigger. Lauren had a great time riding around the farm with Grandma and Will and I enjoyed watching them. It was a wonderful trip out west, but it was nice to get home and settled. It was a great bonding trip for the two kids, too. They spent a lot of time "playing" together and just hanging out. Lauren really grew up a lot on this trip - she rolls over both directions and she can sit up without assistance for a minute or so. We had a great time with Grandma and it was so wonderful to spend so much time with her. She was a great help and I couldn't have done the trip without her! It's always fun to spend time with Mom - she's a great friend! We want to thank everyone that opened their home to us - we had a great time and we really appreciated you spending time with us! Hopefully we'll do it again soon!

Sonora Continued

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Sonora!

Every time I visited my grandparents, Grandpa would take us out for ice cream (he has a bit of a sweet tooth...). He took us out for ice cream before we left and Will ate all of his cone. Maybe they just melt faster in Kentucky, but he's never able to finish the ice cream before it melts everywhere and he needs a bowl. Lauren stayed home with Great-Grandma so that she could finish her nap. She was happy and awake when we returned, though she was getting a bit hungry - maybe she just wanted ice cream.

Will also loved going in the hot tub! It was so nice to just go outside and be able so swim. Lauren loves the water, too, and she had a great time in the hot tub with her big brother.Will went in the hot tub a lot while we were there and he liked the fact that he could touch the bottom of the entire hot tub. It also made it easier for the person in the tub with him!

Will also got to help Great-Grandpa add food to the hummingbird feeder. He loved to watch the hummingbirds come to eat all day and he even got to watch them come to an empty feeder and not eat. It was then time to fill up the feeder, which has to be done two to three times a week!

We had a great time visiting Sonora and Will and Lauren really got to know their Great-Grandparents - and vise-versa. We can't wait to visit again!

3 Year Old Check-up/Ear Infection Check-up

Yesterday was a terrific day! Will and Lauren both saw Dr. Ison - Will had his three year old check-up and Lauren had an ear check for her ear infection.

Will is doing great! He got his blood pressure taken and they had a little gown for him to put on. He didn't want to put the gown on, so he just stayed in his underwear. I thought it was cute for them to have little gowns for the kids, and it also hit me that he wasn't at a baby check-up, this was a big kid check-up. I had my list of questions for the doctor and he answered all of them for me. Will has gained 4 pounds and 4 inches, but the best part is that he's on the charts! He is in the 2% for his weight (26 pounds) and his height went up into the 33%(37 inches)! The doctor said that Will just has a high metabolism and that he is perfectly healthy. This is something that I've known for a long time, but it was nice to hear the doctor say it. He projected that Will is going to be built like me - normal height and thin. Dr. Ison asked Will a couple of questions, too. He asked Will what he wanted to do when he grew up. Will answered that he wanted to play soccer. He also asked Will what he liked to eat. Will answered that he likes peanut butter and jelly. I asked the doctor about Will's eating habits - the fact that he eats so slowly. It takes him about an hour to eat his dinner. Dr. Ison said that it was fine and it was just how he eats (funny - I remember sitting at the table all by myself when I was little.....). Will smiled and told Dr. Ison that he even finished his green bean last night. Dr. Ison commented on what a great boy we have (I agreed) and that he's doing great! It's strange to see my baby get so big - he's a little boy that's going to be off to pre-school in about 6 weeks! WOW!

Lauren's ear has cleared up, but she's back to not sleeping again. Turns out that she's cutting teeth - which is what we suspected. It was nice to have the doctor check that, though! He told me to put Children's Benadryl Allergy on her gums and that will numb it longer than oragel! She slept much better last night and I hope she cuts these teeth soon. While we were in there, I asked Dr. Ison if I could follow the same food progression with Lauren like I did with Will. He said yes! That means that I can start her on finger foods and meats! Lauren ate her first cheerios last night and she loved them! I also made her some apples and she loved that! I have a baby food book and it's pretty strange in it's food progressions, so I asked the doctor about a couple of foods and he said that I could basically feed her whatever I wanted except the obvious foods (like peanut butter, eggs, honey, strawberries, citrus, etc). She seems to like veggies better than fruits (go figure!), so I'm going to make her some squash and see if she likes that. We'll probably do carrots soon, too, because I usually mix the carrots with the chicken. Well, off to finish unpacking..... I'll post more pictures from our vacation soon. I still have one more destination to share with you - Medford, Oregon where we visited my Uncle Danny, Aunt Fran, and Grandma Niedermuller!

Four Generations

Here is our four generation picture. Our family has four generations of women.... Great-Grandma, Grandma, Mom, and Lauren.

The Park, Part II

After a wonderful dinner at Round Table Pizza, we all headed to the park to play. We had a great time. Enjoy the pictures.Swinging with Gpapa and Gmama. Will digging.
Gpapa swinging Lauren.Lauren in the swing.Going down the slide with Mommy.

Just Hanging Out

We have had a great time just hanging out at Gmama and Gpapa's house here in Sonora. I wanted to post some pictures of all of us just spending time together. It's been great for the kids to get to know their great-grandparents! Will and Great-Grandpa in their Norway shirts.
Great-Grandma playing stomp rocket with Will. The stomp rocket ended up in the tree. It took a couple of shoes, a ball, and a rake to finally get it out!Great-Grandpa and Lauren watching the stomp rocket.Great-Grandma feeding Lauren her cereal.Great-Grandpa playing with Will and Lauren.

Let's go to the Park!

We arrived in Sonora, CA on Sunday, July 8th. We had a great drive - both Will and Lauren took a nap for the entire ride! It was so peaceful and we made great time. Gpapa and Gmama have their Little People toys from the 1960's (they were Donna's toys) and Will has really enjoyed playing with them. We had a great dinner and dessert and then we were off to bed. Will and I slept in the same bed for the first time and I figured out that Will has to sleep on the right side of the bed - it's a long story that included a lot of kicking......


Gmama made a blanket for Lauren's dolls (she has made all of the granddaughters blankets for their dolls). Lauren loves her new blanket and doll. She has really enjoyed playing with her new toy! She has really mastered rolling over and she is starting to scoot along the floor to reach toys that she wants! Last night she scooted at least a foot to reach her dragonfly teether!


This morning we had egg souffle (our favorite) and we were off to the park. Will and Lauren had a great time at the park. It was a little hot, so we didn't stay too long, but we stayed long enough to know that we want to go back! Lauren swung on the swing for the first time and Will enjoyed discovering all the new attractions at this park. He really enjoyed running across the bridge and playing the music on the pipes! The best part was that there were not many other children there, so Will basically had the whole park to himself!

Will and Lauren on the swings! Will playing the pipes!

Saturday

Today we went to one of Jenna's soccer games - she had three games today! We had a great time watching her play and she did a great job! Will enjoyed watching the game and he and Tyler played some soccer during half time. Lauren loved the excitement of the game and she is really starting to grow up a bit. She loves to sit and she will sit unassisted for a very short time. After the soccer game we all came home and took a nap. When we woke up, Aunt Donna took us to the pool for some swimming. What a great time we had! Will loved to jump into the pool and he even started some swimming on his own! He would jump into the pool and go under water! Lauren just loved the water and really had a great time splashing around. We came home for some dinner and ice cream and all went to bed. Tomorrow we leave for Sonora to see Gmama and Gpapa.
Will and Tyler playing soccer during half time.Will jumping into the pool.Lauren and Mommy enjoying the water.The gang at the pool - Grandma took the picture.Donna, Allison, and Lauren.

Today we went out onto Folsom Lake for some boating fun! Will had a great time - well.... most of the time. He was a bit tired and a little moody. We started out water skiing and wake boarding. The Pepper Family showed us how it's done! We then played out in the lake and had a great time. Will did not want to go into the water, but I took him anyway. He wasn't thrilled about being in the water, but we got a few pictures of him with the cousins. We took Lauren out into the water and she didn't seem to mind it too much. She cried the first couple of times that we dipped her, but once she got used to the water she liked it. We then used the tube for some tubing fun! Will was able to go out on the tube and he really liked it. Of course, Uncle Doug didn't drive too fast with Will on the back. Next, Grandma, Jenna, and Allison went tubing and Uncle Doug went really fast! It was fun to watch, so against Will's wishes I went out on the tube with Allison and Jenna. Uncle Doug decided to have some fun (we all agreed that it would be fun, too) and he tried to throw us off the tube. It was so much fun and he eventually flipped the tube and we all ended up in the water. I had no idea which way was up and I was glad that I had my life jacket on! Luckily, Will had fallen asleep on Grandma's lap and he missed the whole ordeal. What a fun day. Enjoy the pictures.Lauren in the water with Aunt Donna.The cousins in the water. Notice that Will is not happy about the water!Jenna, Julie, and Allison in the tube.Jenna, Mom, and Allison in the tube. Jenna, Julie, Will, and Tyler in the tube.

We Miss You Daddy!!!

Hi Daddy! We had a great plane ride out to California. It was a lot of fun. When we got to Uncle Doug and Aunt Donna's house I was really tired! We went to bed before the Pepper's got back! On Wednesday we were in two neighborhood parades. I rode in a wagon and Lauren rode in Mommy's carrier. It was a lot of fun! During my nap on Wednesday Lauren rolled over! She was spending time with Allison and Jenna in the "girl room" and she rolled over to see some new and interesting things with them! On Wednesday night I got to see my first firework display. It was really loud, but I loved it! Lauren was home sleeping and Grandma stayed home to watch her. She was really tired. On Thursday we went to a great park that had a waterfall and a little creek. I loved to play in the creek with my cousins! We got all wet. Last night I got to see Uncle Dave, Aunt Jeanette, Michelle, and Nicole! They came over for pizza. It was fun to play with them and they loved seeing Lauren. She really liked seeing them, too. Last night Uncle Doug gave me a snicker's ice cream bar. I really liked that! Mommy said that it's something special between me and Uncle Doug! Today Uncle Doug is taking us out on their boat. Mommy will send pictures later! I love you daddy and I really miss you. I hope you're having an okay time at Army AT this year. We'll see you soon! Love, Will (and Lauren)Everyone at the parade! Look at my cool wagon!Tyler and I were reading a Bob the Builder book together. I've had so much fun playing with Tyler this week!Jenna holding Lauren at the park.Allison holding Lauren at the park.Me and Lauren in the creek!Tyler and me playing in the creek. We had a great time!Jenna and Me under the waterfall.Allison and me playing under the waterfall.Uncle David holding Lauren.The cousin picture!Eating my snicker's ice cream. It was really good! Jenna playing with Lauren after soccer practice!