Next Week She'll Be Driving

Jo and I are continually amazed at the speed of development these first few months. Every day she seems to do something new. Sometimes I get the feeling that she is growing up too fast...but still not sleeping through the nights. Whats the deal with that?
She often places one hand on the bottle while she is eating and last week Jo somehow positioned her so that she was holding the bottle with both hands. When she was done she popped it out of her mouth on her own. That crazy kid is going to make Daddy's life a little too easy.

Outside

One thing is for sure, Pepper loves the outdoors. If she is out of sorts, hungry, and/or tired... she is transformed into a happy, calm girl once you step outside with her. We make it a point to go for walks in the evenings since that is the time she tends to get a little fussy and often she falls asleep at some point during the walk. We all enjoy basking in the Walla Walla sunsets and dreaming about the future from the front porch of our new house.

Meeting Emmarie

My good friend Sherisa, who lives in Spangle, had a beautiful little girl 6 weeks after Pepper was born. We had not met little Emmarie Gloe yet, so when Jo needed a ride to Coeur d'Alene to pick up his truck with a new transmission, we tagged along.
Emmarie is amazing! So little, cuddly, and quiet (Sherisa says she is not always so quiet, but I don't believe her). It was so nice to spend most of the day discussing our new-mom adventures. There is nothing like the support of a friend in a similar situation. We also had so much fun taking pictures of the two girls. We were reduced to fits of laughter as they sat next to each other leaning on one another (P tended to squish E) with seeming little knowledge of each other. Their arms and legs were continually flailing and their eyes never seemed to be where we needed them. I have a renewed respect for infant photographers.
My dad picked us up lunch at Olive Garden on his way back through Spokane so we ate a yummy lunch that we did not have to cook! All in all, it was a wonderful day. I am so blessed to have Sherisa as my friend and I can't wait for the fun times that Pepper and Emmarie will have in the future!

Holding hands!

Love E's pose.

Perfect of Emmarie, but Pepper was so busy adjusting her skirt.

P is finally looking at the camera but E is sleeping.

Love this one!

Where is Winter When You Need It?

Pepper has this really cute outfit that was passed down to her. What I love about it is that it is red and not pink. Don't get me wrong, I do like pink, but there are so many pink clothes for little girls that it is refreshing to have other colors. The other thing I love is that the jacket looks so soft and cozy. I was so excited when we had a "cold" morning last week so that she could wear this outfit. She was sufficiently cooperative, but I have learned again that P's patience for photo shoots has it's limits.

"This is so fun!"

"I think I am hungry."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Conquering the Canine Houdini

Due to Zoe's fascination with sitting in the middle of the road and trying to go home with every stranger that passes our house, we like to have the option to put her and Jack in the huge goat pen (they don't know how good they have it). Jo tried to patch a part of the pen many times over the past month. Unfortunately, no matter how tiny the hole was, Zoe would always escape and leave Jack sadly penned up all by himself. Finally Jo just rebuilt that part of the fence. Alas, Zoe Houdini Fackenthall will live another day...and will likely find some other way to escape.

Blueberry Pickin'

We have been having fun at Lampson's Blueberry Farm picking the biggest, sweetest blueberries. Pepper has fun because she loves being outside, usually riding in the front pack getting smacked by blueberry branches while we pick. This last time we picked for so long that she got tired of the front pack and had fun kicking on a blanket. Thanks to Jo's and my mom's amazing picking skills we picked over 50 lbs! I love that Pepper's eyes are the exact same color as the blueberries.

Blueberry Power!

Jo's such an expert picker.

 

Summer Storms

There have been a couple of awesome storms in the past week with dark clouds, loud thunder, and lightning. The dogs hate it, but it is fun to watch and it gives some excellent lighting for photography. 

Grandparents Galore

Pepper is the lucky recipient of piles of kisses, hugs, and snuggles from her wonderful grandparents.  She did miss Grandma Pat and Grandpa John while they were gone to California for 2 weeks. Grandma Pat says, "I've missed a fifth of her life!", which is true since she has only been alive for 10 weeks now. Her smiles, coos, chortles, and squeals are increasingly frequent, much to everyone's delight.

Wow, Great-Grandma D, you are so neat!

Kisses from Grandpa Lee

So glad to have Grandma Pat and Grandpa John home!

Making Grandma Em laugh.

Ladies Night Out

The opening of the valley's first self serve frozen yogurt joint corresponded nicely with a week of hot weather, though I have to admit that I would have gone three times in the first week even if it had opened in the winter. Carl and Mindy can vouch for the fact that I LOVE self serve frozen yogurt. They introduced me to it when we were visiting them in Cali this past January. It is the perfect treat. Lots of flavors and toppings, with a hint of healthiness thrown in...it IS yogurt, is it not?

We tried chocolate, vanilla, white chocolate macadamia nut, pomegranate/raspberry and Euro Tart, while Pepper had her usual... slobbery fist. Thanks Mom for the treat!

A Little Dirt Never Hurt

Due to the fluffy sea of dust surrounding the new house, keeping dirt off of ANYTHING at this point is entirely impossible.

Sleeping Beauty

Jo will tell you that there is nothing better than a baby asleep on your chest... I tend to agree. 

New Toys

Thanks for the cool shirt Auntie Nikki!

This week we pulled out this play mat thing that has lots of little animals and other blinking, singing things attached to it. She seems quite enamored with it for now and her eyes seem to light up when we turn on the blinky, singy ones (of course they love the noise making toys). She likes to lay there and kick while she "talks" to the animals. We also caught her with the best bubble ever! Her talents never cease.

The animals don't always play nice.

Still loves walks with dad.

Home Sweet Home

Framing is now complete! Gene Mahurin did an excellent job. Jo is continuing the rock work. We are pretty excited with how it is turning out!

Not quite complete.

On our daily walk out to the site.

Not ready for harvest yet, thank goodness!

Porch being framed.

The rock retaining wall, level one.

Retaining wall view from Pepper's room.

What a wonderful sight!

Home Sweet Home

Pepper and Jo looking out her bedroom window.

 The next parts of the building project will seem slow compared to the speed of framing. HVAC, plumbing, and electric will be in the house and soon Jo will be up on the roof getting that completed.