Need help with a loose tooth?

I took these pictures a few weeks ago. Olivia has a couple of teeth coming in, but her little mouth is going to have a hard time fitting them well. One of her baby teeth was getting pushed to the front where no tooth was going to push it out so I encouraged her often to wiggle it and work at getting it out. It was quite loose, but with no tooth pushing it things were stalling. One night when the kids were watching a movie upstairs I heard her fussing, then Louis talking, then her laughing. This routine (fussing, talking, laughing) was going on quite awhile and I began to realize that Louis was trying to help her get her tooth out. He has helped Otto with loose teeth several times and I chose to stay out of sight and see how things would play out. It wasn't too long and they came downstairs successful. Aren't big brothers wonderful!

Farmer's Market, again!

Our first summer in Beaverton we (or I) went to the Farmer's Market nearly every weekend. I think we missed maybe three. Last summer, our first on the top of a hill, we went rarely. This year we are determined to not let that happen again. We love going to the Farmer's Market, and we are much more used to riding up our hill. 


Greg returned from a trip to Moab, UT/Fruita, CO on Saturday, about 3AM. You can read about that on his blog: www.hack-mtb.blogspot.com. He called on the way home and wondered if I was planning to ride to the store Saturday. Of course I was, but it was a great surprise to let him know that it was opening day at the Farmer's Market. He wanted to go with the whole family. So, despite the small amount of sleep, we all rode our bikes (Greg pulling Olivia on the trail-a-bike). It was a blast. We always buy pastries and bread from the Fressen Bakery stand. Otto took all the pictures. 

The next day we had to go to several stores; Otto needed new shoes and always we need more groceries. Olivia wanted to come again and the weather was beautiful. Target, Payless Shoes, Home Depot, Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's were our route. 

These pictures also show my new bike which Greg bought me this last winter. I objected at first because I felt I was doing fine shopping with my cruiser and this bike was certainly not free. However, Greg said it would make a huge difference hauling weight with a bike that was made for that purpose. As usual, he was right. We LOVE shopping by bike!

Zoo Trip

Dad and Eunice have graciously provided zoo passes for our whole family and we recently took advantage of it. It was a beautiful day, a Friday, and I have never seen so many strollers! It was cool in the morning and a breeze kept things cool despite the sun. We saw nearly everything and the walking kept us warm. Many of the animals were active which was a special treat.

When we went into the alligator building the heat and humidity nearly knocked us over. The alligator tank which shows above and below the water was so murky that you could only see things close to the glass. That would be the end of the tail when we arrived, but we could see the head above the water facing away from us. We were just starting to leave when we saw him sinking backwards, more of the tail in view and the head disappearing. We continued watching as the tail disappeared into the cloud. Suddenly we noticed teeth creeping up on us from the right; Olivia jumped off the bench with genuine fear. It was unnerving.

Otto took a ton of great pictures!

We feel blessed to be able to live near a zoo with a large selection of animals for the kids to see in person. Thank you, thank you, to Dad and Eunice for providing us the ability to experience this gift!

Olivia has a new bike

Greg and I wanted to get a new bike for Olivia for Christmas, but we just couldn't find one we liked in our price range. Finally, after Christmas, Greg found this adorable bike on sale at a friend's bike shop. Olivia has named it Snow Flower. She can't reach the ground when sitting on the seat so it will take a little practice to get started on her own, but she can stop fine. All she needs is a basket on the front (we are still looking for the perfect one) and a little more experience riding and she will achieve her dream of riding with me to the store. We can hardly wait!

Here is a little video of her riding: http://www.vimeo.com/8521648

Christmas and Looking to 2010

Here is just a little about our Christmas. We bought all the children a lamp for their beds. Often they will wake up before everyone else and want to read, or some want to go to sleep before others are done reading. They were all happy about us letting them open the gift on Christmas Eve. They all got other presents on Christmas Day, from us and the grandparents, the most exciting being sleeper pants for each of them (truly they were all very excited about these) and a Wii game (obviously exciting).

Unfortunately, the kids began getting sick again right about Christmas and are still recovering over a week later, and although the coughing is definitely less, it is just as definitely ugly. Despite the illness we were able to go to Dad and Eunice's for dinner with Rick, Kathy, Felecia and Darin on Sunday (except Greg who struggles with asthma at Dad's and Louis who was just not feeling up to it with his cough and cold). Those who went had a great dinner and a great time. Monday we met them all at Powell's Books where we had another great shopping spree thanks to Rick and Kathy. I think this is the third year in a row they have given us this treat. I got my copy of Atlas Shrugged for the reunion next summer. As many who like are reading it to discuss at the reunion. I am determined to finish Truman by David McCullough first.

Perhaps I will ramble about my goals on my rambling page, but to summarize, I want to do better with routine and scheduling. We have had such a wonderful year in this home, made so many new friends, and spent so much time relaxing and enjoying life. It has caused me to suffer with anxiety over not accomplishing the things I feel I should. I want to improve our diet with more Nourishing Traditions cooking. I want to ride to the store always (excluding illness). I want to pray more.

December

When I was younger I remember people saying that the older you get the faster time passes. It was true this year. We always at least think about making 'nuts and bolts' (a snack of seasoned cereal and pretzels) during the Christmas season; not this year. The first time I even thought about it was last night, Christmas night.

On the 13th Dad and Eunice took Olivia and I to see The Nutcracker ballet. Olivia brings it up frequently and always lets me know when she hears any of the music. It was lovely and delightful.

The 21st was Olivia's 6th birthday. Greg at least got the camera out when he got home. The night before we had dinner with Dad and Eunice which they made into a celebration for Olivia. They gave her the sweet outfit she is wearing. I will have to write about Christmas later.

Trying to get with it.

So much has happened since I posted last. I haven't been taking any pictures, rarely even thinking about it. The leaves have all changed and fallen, and I will post a picture from mid October. This was taken through our dining room window.

One of the biggest challenges to blogging has been illness. We have had one thing after another for months, seriously in August Henry had a cough that began our rough journey. It must have been last month when we caught the dreaded swine flu, though we didn't go in for a diagnosis the symptoms made it quite clear. I began to wonder what I was doing wrong. How could I make our diet better, keep our house cleaner, etc. Then God reminded me that we have not really been ill for 5 years. We might get a cold or virus of some sort once or twice a year, but nothing like what we have just experienced. We are sure that a lot of the reasons were timing, being exposed to new germs when our immune systems were still trying to recover from the last bug. Also, our exposure is greatly magnified. Two of the children we care for are in public school or have siblings in public school. The adventure has caused me to be more active in strengthening our immune systems and prevention of infection. For example, we have some elderberries in our tea at least once a day. I have super tonic in the cupboard and when it is ready we will have some at the absolute first indication of any illness and maybe just everyday through the winter. We have also begun taking vitamin D3 and cutting back on our sugar intake. I thought it was so great that I had begun to regularly make cookies and yummy treats for snacks. They were made with freshly ground whole wheat flour and less processed sugars, but sugar of any sort in larger doses still makes the immune system work harder. I am going to be cleaning with Enjo products which are much more effective and will get all chemicals out of our house. Anyway, we are all feeling good now and I will enjoy it as long as it lasts, and I feel hopeful that it will last awhile.