Big Girl Bike!

Sierra is our ever growing girl!!!  This summer in shorts it's not as obvious as she is not turning pants into high-waters to show us her growth spurts.  However, after we returned from our California vacation I noticed different things around the house that she was able to reach a lot easier... or there was the fact that when we stopped by her friends house and she was out on the porch and he stood up on the threshold... she was still as tall or taller than him!  So we came home and measured her.  Sure enough she had grown 2 more inches.  She's now just over 40 pounds and is 42 inches tall!  She's doubled her birth length... and more than quadrupled her birth weight! 

She has still been attempting to ride her tricycle, but her knees now bow way out to the sides and it really wasn't feasible any longer.  We have been frustrated at times because she has been offered the opportunity to try out bigger bikes with training wheels but quickly quits/gives up when she encounters one of the many hills in our neighborhood.  But... last week there was a bit of a change!  Her buddy Owen had his smaller bike and bigger bike out when we stopped to say hello.  The two of them decided they wanted to race... which was a great motivator.  She is a good bit taller than him so she got to try out the bigger bike.  And to my surprise she put a good amount of effort into it and did fairly well.  So... when in the midst of errands (mostly for the baby) we stopped by Toys R Us.  We got a killer deal on a cute bike for her as it was the last one of that bike in the store.  It was already assembled and ready to go for $49!  We got her a cute little basket and she test drove it around the store and up to the register.  Didn't want to get off and then rode it out of the store and to the truck.  We're working on laps around the flatter parts of the neighborhood and will probably have to load up and take it to the cement pad at the park one of these mornings too for some good practice.  So proud of her for stepping it up!

 Trying it out in the store

Loaded into daddy's truck... and for size reference!

Sierra riding the bike out from the store and to the truck

Sierra riding in the neighborhood

Twos...

These days good things come in Twos! 

Two Sisters...
Two Prego Bellies...
Two days between due dates...
Two little boys on the way!

(Kinda fun to see how two different bodies can carry babies so differently!)

Time with Mimi

This afternoon Sierra and I went to spend some time with Mimi (Great Grandma Dorothy).  Sierra was fascinated with all of the flowers on the way in... then with the candle sticks, pillows and animals on the inside!  She pulled them out of the different rooms and brought them into the living room to all have a nap.  Then we had to talk very quietly!  It was a fun visit... good to get to visit with Mimi and nice to see Sierra enjoy playing in the same house I played in growing up! 

Down on the Farm

This morning started off with a viewing of daddy's video of "Green Eggs and Ham" followed by Sierra's first sampling of green egss!  She was extremely hesitant... and went through much of the story saying no and yuck.... and then finally gave in and tried them... I like them, I do!  I do like green eggs and ham! 

After that we headed out to meet uncle Chris at the Farm!  He is such a great sport!  First he showed up with a new tutu and matching headband... then he took Sierra off for her first experience picking strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, and peaches!  We had a blast.. but got a bit hot and sweaty! 

After a break in the AC we headed out to pet some goats and a rabbit. Then into the corn pit! It was a wonderful morning~ Thanks Uncle Chris!!!

Down Day

Woo... so we took a break yesterday and had our first and only day of not going anywhere!  At least not in a car!  (we did walk down to the local Farmer's Market in the evening)  We had a fun day playing and hanging out at the house.  Here are a few snapshots from the day:

 Giving Lizzy a bath

 "helping" papa work on the sink

 trying on Grandma's cowgirl boots

A day on the coast

One of my dearest aunts... my great aunt Jo... aka Grammy Jo turned 90 this last week!  Her family had a party for her that we unfortunately missed out on with all of our travels and plans that had been set before hand.  So Mom, Amy, Sierra and I headed over to the coast to get the opportunity to visit with her and take her out to lunch.  We went by and visited at her house first and Sierra was in heaven playing with all of Grammy's cats (the kind you don't have to feed!) 

After lunch we headed over to the beach for some fun.  Grandma Lulu was a good sport and went and played with Sierra in and out of the waves.  They had a blast and Sierra was of course covered with sand! 

While they played Amy and I decided to try out something our Aunt Sonya had told us about!  She said that you can dig a hole in the sand and lay with your belly in it!?  Both of us having been belly sleepers prior to pregnancy tried it out.  I feel asleep for a bit which was wonderful... Amy on the other hand ended up getting up for fear of stretch marks!  It makes for some interesting photos =) 

A Hot Day with Cool Kids

Today Sierra and I got to spend some time with a couple more cousins.  We were blessed to have a day with Crystal and Andrew and it had been a good year or so since we had been able to interact in person.  We picked them up and headed down the hill into the hot valley temperatures of  We met up with Grandma Jeanette and Papa Mike and started our day with some ice cream (lunch for Papa). 

Then we headed over to paint some pottery!  Watching each of them pick out his/her piece of pottery was hilarious.  They were all very meticulous in their painting and each did something very unique.  After finishing our pottery we were ready for some lunch and enjoyed some oldies music at Johnny Rockets. 

Then we went on a mission to find a theatre playing "Mr. Poppers Penguins" in the time frame we needed.  We were in luck and so enjoyed the Penguin movie... especially watching the chicks hatch!  The car ride home nearly landed all three kiddos asleep... guess we had a pretty good day!  It was so wonderful to spend some quality time with these cool kids that are so dear to our hearts.